The Stock Exchange of Thailand rose on its first day of trade in the year, while other Asian equities extended gains after a rally in technology companies boosted US stocks to record highs.
The SET main index rose 9.58 points or 0.55% to 17,63.29 as off 10.11am on Wednesday.
The SET50 and MAI indexes also jumped more than 0.50% after the morning session started.
Equity gauges rose across Asia on Wednesday, with only the Jakarta Composite Index showing a decline, while regional currencies were mixed. Japanese markets remain closed and US index futures advanced after the Nasdaq 100 Index climbed 1.8% on Tuesday, the biggest gain since Oct 27. The S&P 500 Index also finished at an all-time high. The euro fell for the first time in six days, while the won dropped the most in Asia.
Investors begin 2018 on the heels of a winning year for equities and a losing one for the US currency, which continues to slide even as Treasury yields surge. Global stocks posted their best performance since 2009 last year, fuelled by a synchronous expansion and a go-slow approach toward monetary-stimulus withdrawal in major economies.
“The backdrop for the dollar is just not very good,” said Mark McCormick, head of FX strategy for North America at Toronto Dominion Bank. “The global reflation trade is progressing along.”
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.2% as of 9.20am, while New Zealand’s benchmark gauge climbed 0.4%.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.7%, the Hang Seng Index climbed 0.6%, while the Philippine Stock Exchange Index led Asia with a 1.1% advance.
S&P 500 Index futures increased 0.1% after the underlying gauge rose 0.8% to 2,695.81 in New York on Tuesday.