Total transactions amounted to Bt70.212 billion with an index high of 1,333.25 and a low of 1,315.03.

A Krungsri Securities stock analyst said he expects the index to rise between 1,330 and 1,335 before falling.

The market gained positive sentiment from the rising price of crude oil, hopes that the US Federal Reserve will issue additional economic stimulus measures to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 and the Thai Monetary Policy Committee‘s move to cut the key interest rate by 0.25 percentage point to 0.5 per cent.

“The price of crude oil rose to over US$33 per barrel after US crude stockpiles dropped by 5 million barrels,” the analyst said.

However, he advised investors to beware of mass sell-offs as the index’s price-to-earnings ratio has risen by over 17 times and banks’ net interest margin is likely to drop in line with interest rate.

The top 10 stocks with the highest trade values today were GULF, BAM, STA, MINT, TRUE, CPALL, PTT, AOT, PTTEP and SAWAD.

As of 4.30pm, crude oil price rose by $0.76 or 2.27 per cent to $34.25 per barrel, while gold dropped by $18.80 or 1.07 per cent to $1,733.30 per ounce.

US and European indices were on the slide, while Asian indices had a mixed day:

Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 20,552.31, down 42.84 points, or 0.21 per cent.

China’s Shanghai SE Composite Index closed at 2,867.92, down 15.81 points, or 0.55 per cent, while Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 10,845.40, down 103.08 points, or 0.94 per cent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 24,280.03, down 119.92 points, or 0.49 per cent.

South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 1,998.31, up 8.67 points, or 0.44 per cent.

Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 11,008.31, up 100.51 points, or 0.92 per cent.