The Thai stock market has finished higher now in four straight sessions, collecting more than 20 points or 2.6 percent in the process. The Stock Exchange of Thailand moved above the 735-point plateau, and now analysts are expecting little movement at the opening of trade on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is effectively flat, with perhaps a touch of upside likely for the more commodity-driven markets thanks to a rise in the prices for gold and oil. Telecoms and property stocks also may provide support, but technology shares are expected to be weak. European markets finished mostly higher, while the U.S. bourses ended little changed - and now the Asian markets are expected to open slightly higher.
The SET finished barely higher on Wednesday, nudged higher by gains from the energy stocks.
For the day, the index was up 1.85 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 735.04 after trading between 731.23 and 737.94. Volume was 3.364 billion shares worth 23.626 billion baht. There were 195 gainers and 148 decliners, with 126 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, energy giant PTT was up 0.41 percent, while PTT Exploration and Production added 1.81 percent, PTT Aromatic plunged 5.50 percent, coal producer Banpu gained 3.53 percent, Siam Concrete climbed 0.43 percent and Siam City Bank collected 0.87 percent.
Wall Street offers little guidance as stocks gave up their early gains and closed largely unchanged on Wednesday, with the Federal Reserve's Beige Book report raising some cautious sentiment in the markets, offsetting earlier optimism. The major averages closed near the flat line, with only the S&P 500 able to eke out a gain on the day.
The Fed's Beige Book said reports from the twelve Fed districts indicated that economic conditions continued to expand since the last report, although the central bank noted that severe snowstorms in early February held back activity in several districts. The Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions from each of the twelve Fed districts, showed that nine districts reported that economic activity improved, but in most cases the increases were modest.
Early buying interest came after Automatic Data Processing (ADP) released a report showing that non-farm private employment fell by 20,000 jobs in February following a revised decrease of 60,000 jobs in January. The drop in jobs came in line with economist estimates. A continued increase in employment in the service-providing sector helped to limit the size of the decrease in private employment, which was the smallest in two years.
In other economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said that activity in the service sector expanded at a faster than expected pace in the month of February, with the index of activity in the sector rising by much more than expected.
On the corporate front, Pfizer (PFE) and Medivation (MDVN) said that results from two Phase 3 trials of the investigational drug Dimebon in patients with Alzheimer's disease failed to meet primary and secondary goals. Shares of Medivation fell almost 70 percent on the news.
In earnings news, BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. (BJ) said its fourth-quarter net income and revenues were lower than expected. Costco Wholesale Corp.'s (COST) earnings also missed, although its revenues topped expectations.
The major averages saw choppy movement in late session dealing, closing near the unchanged mark, seeing moves of less than a tenth of a percent. The Dow fell by 9.22 points to end at 10,396.76 and the NASDAQ edged down by 0.11 points to 2,280.68, while the S&P 500 closed up 0.48 points at 1,118.79.
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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.