The Thai stock market has closed lower in two of three sessions since the end of the seven-day winning streak in which it had climbed more than 45 points or 3.9 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand settled just above the 1,205-point plateau, and now analysts are forecasting further damage at the opening of trade on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets remains negative as reports suggest that the debt problems in Europe are growing worse. Greece is facing a political impasse after voters turned down the parties that accepted the international bailout terms. Also, Spanish banks were pummeled after borrowing costs spiked higher for Madrid. The European markets finished mostly lower and the U.S. bourses were firmly in the red - and the Asian markets also figure to track to the downside.
The SET finished sharply lower on Wednesday following heavy damage from the financial shares and the energy producers.
For the day, the index plummeted 23.79 points or 1.93 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,207.25 after peaking at 1,227.34. Volume was 7.901 billion shares worth 40.811 billion baht. There were 415 decliners and 142 gainers, with 105 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the decliners, energy giant PTT was down 2.27 percent, while PTT Global Chemicals shed 2.19 percent, coal miner Banpu lost 1.45 percent, Bangkok Bank plunged 3.90 percent and Kasikornbank fell 2.81 percent.
The lead from Wall Street suggests consolidation as stocks moved lower on Wednesday, although they moved off of session lows later in the day. The early sell-off came as traders continued to express concerns about the recent elections in France and Greece and their potential impact on efforts to address the European debt crisis.
Investors kept a close eye on the political situation in Greece, where leftist leader Alexis Tsipras attempted to form a coalition government. Tsipras is opposed to the terms of the bailout by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund - although his efforts have been unsuccessful, however, with the debt-plagued nation potentially headed to a new round of elections in June.
Further selling pressure was generated by reports that Eurozone countries were debating a potential delay in a 5.2 billion euro bailout payment to Greece due to the ongoing political uncertainty. But subsequent reports contradicted the news from the Journal and helped the markets to recover, and the European Financial Stability Facility's Board of Directors later confirmed the payment.
In corporate news, shares of Disney (DIS) rose by 1.6 percent after the entertainment giant reported better than expected second quarter results, benefiting from strong performances by its media networks and theme parks.
The major averages ended the day firmly in negative territory, although well off their worst levels of the day. The Dow dropped 97.03 points or 0.8 percent to finish at 12,835.06, while the NASDAQ fell 11.56 points or 0.4 percent to end at 2,934.71, and the S&P 500 slid 9.14 points or 0.7 percent to 1,354.58.
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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.