Thai shares seen higher, censure debate a damper

BANGKOK, March 19 (Reuters) - Thai stocks are set to open
higher on Thursday after the Federal Reserve surprised Wall
Street with a plan to buy long-term Treasury bonds to prop up
the economy, dealers said.

However, domestic politics could limit the gains, with a
censure motion against Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and
five cabinet ministers due to start on Thursday.

The vote at the weekend will be watched closely, but
analysts say it is highly unlikely that Abhisit's government
will fall.

"We're probably going to see the SET climbing up because of
a positive move from the Fed," said Chakkrit Charoenmethachai,
an analyst with Syrus Securities.

"Any upside should be short-lived with investors here
watching how it turns out with the censure debate," he added,
expecting resistance on the main index .SETI at 430 and
support at 422.

On Wednesday, the benchmark SET index closed up 0.92
percent at 426.20, buoyed by gains in energy bellwethers led by
PTT Exploration and Production PTTE.BK, which rose over 1
percent.

U.S. stocks rallied on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve
said it would buy long-term Treasury bonds for the first time
in four decades in an effort to revive the recession-hit
economy.

Click [TH/TRADING01] for cumulative trading value by
investor type.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 0229 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 794.35 2.09% 16.230
USD/JPY JPY= 95.98 -0% 0.000
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 2.5703 -- 0.023
SPOT GOLD XAU= 928.2 -1.26% -11.800
US CRUDE CLc1 49.1 1.99% 0.960
DOW JONES .DJI 7486.58 1.23% 90.88
ASIA ADRS .BKAS 87.43 1.96% 1.68
-------------------------------------------------------------
MARKET SUMMARY > UPDATE 1-U.S. oil prices near $50 in
post-settlement trade[O/R] > Wall St jumps as Fed spurs
optimism, Oracle up late [.N] > FOREX-Dollar hits 2-mth
low vs euro after Fed surprise [USD/] > TREASURIES-Rally after
Fed says will buy long-term bonds [US/] > Gold dips after
Fed-fuelled leap, ETF hits record [GOL/]

STOCKS AND FACTORS TO WATCH

- Krungthai Card KTC.BK

Top credit card issuer said it would sell 773.5 million new
shares in a three-for-one rights issue at 10 baht each, raising
7.74 billion baht ($216 million). [nBKK422772]

- Big C Supercenter BIGC.BK

Hypermarket operator Big C said its board had approved a
dividend payment of 1.63 baht per share for 2008.

- Thailand's exports fell by double digits for the fourth
straight month in February and imports registered the biggest
fall in 11 years, suggesting to analysts that the outlook for
trade would remain grim for months. [nBKK440461]

- Thai companies are likely to sell about 240-250 billion
baht ($6.7-7.0 billion) of bonds this year, more than expected
and mostly ahead of huge supply from the government, the Thai
Bond Market Association said. [nBKK347579]

- For the Thai press digest click on [PRESS/TH]

- For Thailand's IPO diary click on <TH/IPOMENU>

- For Thailand's stock exchange news click on [TH-SET]

- For Thailand corporate earnings: [TH-RES-RTRS]

- For Thailand economic forecast: [POLL-ECI-TH-RTRS]
($1=35.79 Baht)
(Reporting by Ploy Chitsomboon; Editing by Alan Raybould)