Recap: The US stock market edged up in response to better-than-expected economic data before the long Easter weekend, lifting many Asian indices as well. Still, US-China trade negotiations remain a concern that could rattle investor confidence going forward.
The SET index moved in a range of 1,664.04 and 1,679.75 points before closing at 1,674.10, up 0.8% from the previous week, in moderate turnover averaging 45.44 billion baht a day for three days of trade following the Songkran holidays.
Institutional investors were net buyers of 5.36 billion baht and brokerage firms bought 751.48 million worth of shares. Retail investors were net sellers of 4.63 billion baht and foreign investors offloaded 1.48 billion.
Newsmakers: China's economy expanded in the first quarter by 6.4% year-on-year, slightly more than expected, as government moves to promote growth helped offset weak global demand and the impact of trade tensions with the US.
Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso poured cold water on speculation that a sales-tax increase from 8% to 10% in October would be delayed, saying that would only happen in the event of a big economic shock on the scale of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Thursday declared victory in the country's presidential election, citing unofficial tallies giving him 54.5% of the votes in Wednesday's election, against 45.5% for rival Prabowo Subianto.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said the Chinese company building a rail link across the country would help to manage and operate the network, part of a revised deal that cut the project cost in half.
The troubled Indian airline Jet Airways has temporarily suspended all domestic and international flights after failing to find fresh funding. The airline said it was no longer able to pay for fuel and other critical services.
Shares of the social pinning service Pinterest closed 28.6% above their IPO price on their New York Stock Exchange debut on Thursday , giving the loss-making firm a market valuation of $12 billion. On the Nasdaq, Zoom Video Communications soared 72% on its debuts.
The US labour market remained tight as businesses struggled to find skilled workers and wages grew modestly, the Federal Reserve said in its latest report on the economy.
Local issuance of non-rated and non-investment-grade long-term debentures rose substantially in the first quarter, signalling increased risk appetite among bond investors, says the Thai Bond Market Association.
Credit inquiries at the National Credit Bureau are expected to hit a record high of 60 million this year, up 11% from last year, amid mounting anxiety over swelling household debt. Household debt rose 5.9% in the first nine months of last year, faster than the economic growth rate of about 4%, according to the Bank of Thailand.
New lending curbs and bearish housing demand affected listed developers' confidence in the first quarter of 2019. The Real Estate Information Center said its sentiment index fell to 52.2, the lowest since the first quarter of 2014, the height of anti-government street protests that set the stage for the coup in May that year.
The Thai Retailers Association has criticised the government for giving Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) latitude to handle bidding for new duty-free concessions, demanding more accountability for the process in light of the high financial stakes involved. AoT has defended its decision to offer two contracts: one for Suvarnabhumi and the other for the Chiang Mai, Phuket and Hat Yai airports. Results are expected by May 31.
Policymakers are likely to postpone the mandatory upgrade from Euro 4 to Euro 5 standards by another year because many in the industry are not ready, says the chief of the Energy Business Department.
True Corporation Plc is expected to be the biggest beneficiary of the government's decision to stretch out the instalment payment schedule for 900-megahertz licences for the country's three mobile operators, analysts say.
Bangkok Bank's first-quarter net profit rose 0.3% year-on-year to 9.03 billion baht, helped by a 6.9% gain in net interest income.
TMB Bank reported a 31% drop in consolidated net profit to 1.58 billion baht in the first quarter, due largely to lower non-interest income and higher operating expenses.
With demand for melamine and plastic packaging sluggish at home, SET-listed Srithai Superware (SITHAI) has shifted to investing in markets abroad this year.
Coming up: The US will release March existing home sales on Monday and the EU will release preliminary April consumer confidence figures on Tuesday. Germany will release the April Ifo business climate report on Wednesday.
The Bank of Japan and Bank Indonesia will hold policy meetings on Thursday and South Korea will announce first-quarter GDP data. The US will announce March durable goods orders and Germany will release the May GfK consumer confidence report.
The US will announce preliminary first-quarter GDP figures on Friday, and Britain will release April housing price data the same day. South Korea will release April consumer confidence and Japan will announce March unemployment, industrial production and retail sales.
Stocks to watch: Asia Plus Securities expects first-quarter results of SET-listed firms will improve from last year's final quarter. Energy and banking shares are expected to outperform the market given improved oil prices and Thailand's continuous economic recovery. The brokerage predicts a rally in BDMS and STEC following the decision by MSCI Emerging Markets to increase its weighting of Thai equities.
Finansia Syrus Securities expects large-cap electronics players DELTA, HANA, KCE and SVI to report weaker Q1 results due to slower sales of automobiles, smartphones and computers stemming from the China-US trade spat.
Technical view: Finansia Syrus Securities sees support at 1,655 points and resistance at 1,690. SCB Securities sees support at 1,658 and resistance at 1,690.