The Thai stock market has moved higher now in six consecutive trading days, gathering more than 45 points or 4.1 percent along the way. The SET settled just below the 1,200-point plateau, and now analysts are predicting further upside at the opening of trade on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets remains positive thanks to surprisingly upbeat data from the United States ahead of that country's July 4 holiday. The U.S. Commerce Department reported a larger than expected increase in factory orders in May, while U.S. automakers also had strong sales numbers in June. The upside may be limited by profit taking, as well as caution ahead of Thursday's meetings of the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, as well as Friday's U.S. employment data. The European and U.S. bourses finished higher, and the Asian markets are tipped to follow suit.
The SET finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and the energy producers.
For the day, the index collected 9.33 points or 0.78 percent to finish at 1,198.07 after trading between 1,191.81 and 1,199.17. Volume was 3.985 billion shares worth 26.304 billion baht. There were 299 gainers and 219 decliners, with 142 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the gainers, energy giant PTT was up 0.91 percent, while PTT Global Chemicals added 0.44 percent, coal miner Banpu gathered 0.43 percent, Kasikornbank jumped 1.22 percent and Siam Commercial Bank climbed 2.01 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the abbreviated trading session on Tuesday after initially showing a lack of direction. With the gains, the major averages all ended the session at their best closing levels in well over a month.
The strength on Wall Street was partly due to a report from the Commerce Department showing that factory orders rose by 0.7 percent in May following two consecutive monthly decreases. Economists had expected orders to edge up 0.1 percent. With the stronger than expected growth, the report eased some of the concerns raised by Monday's report from the Institute for Supply Management showing a contraction in manufacturing activity.
The markets also benefited from news of strong sales by U.S. automakers in the month of June. Ford (F) reported a 7 percent increase in June sales, while sales by General Motors (GM) and Chrysler jumped by 16 percent and 20 percent, respectively.
Nonetheless, trading activity remained subdued, with traders looking to get a head start on the Independence Day holiday on Wednesday. Uncertainty about Friday's monthly jobs report also helped to keep traders on the sidelines along with upcoming monetary policy announcements from Europe.
Among individual stocks, shares of Microsoft (MSFT) were higher after the software giant announced that it will take a $6.2 billion charge for the impairment of goodwill in its Online Services Division segment, mostly related to its 2007 acquisition of aQuantive.
The major averages saw some volatility in the final hour of trading in the shortened session but closed firmly in positive territory. The Dow rose 72.43 points or 0.6 percent to finish at 12,943.82, while the NASDAQ advanced 24.85 points or 0.8 percent to end at 2,976.08 and the S&P 500 climbed 8.51 points or 0.6 percent to 1,374.02.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.