The Thai stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had fallen more than 40 points or 3.3 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand finished just above the 1,170-point plateau, and now analysts are forecasting another soft start for the market when it opens on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets remains negative, although they have taken heavy losses in recent sessions and are ripe for bargain hunting later in the day. The political situation in Greece remains the main culprit amid doubts regarding the country's international aid and rekindling worries that Greece could exit from the euro currency bloc. Providing support is better than expected U.S. economic data for industrial production and housing starts. The European and U.S. markets were lower again, and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The SET finished sharply lower on Wednesday following heavy losses among the energy producers and the financial shares.
For the day, the index lost 13.32 points or 1.12 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,171.23 after trading as low as 1,151.84. Volume was 5.186 billion shares worth 33.391 billion baht. There were 412 decliners and 150 gainers, with 93 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, energy giant PTT was down 1.19 percent, while PTT Global Chemicals shed 1.53 percent, coal miner Banpu plummeted 3.07 percent, Siam Concrete collected 1.47 percent, Kasikornbank lost 1.62 percent, Siam Commercial Bank fell 1.71 percent and Bangkok Bank was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street continues to be negative as stocks moved lower on Wednesday after failing to sustain an early upward move. The pullback came as worries about the political situation in Greece once again overshadowed a batch of upbeat U.S. economic data.
The downturn by the markets was partly due to reports indicating that the European Central Bank has stopped monetary policy operations with some Greek banks. A separate report cited two euro-area officials who said that the ECB has no plans to increase stimulus, adding to the selling pressure.
Stocks saw continued weakness following the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's April meeting, which showed that members of the Federal Open Market Committee remain divided on the prospects for a third round of quantitative easing. The minutes said "several" members are in favor of additional asset purchases if the economic recovery falters, up from "a few" potential advocates for QE3 a month earlier.
The early strength was due to some better than expected U.S. economic data, including a report from the Federal Reserve showing a much bigger than expected increase in industrial production in April. Output increased 1.1 percent in April, topping estimates for an increase of 0.5 percent.
Additionally, the Commerce Department reported that U.S. housing starts rose 2.6 percent to an annual rate of 717,000 in April from the revised March estimate of 699,000. Economists had expected housing starts to increase to 690,000 from the 654,000 originally reported for March. Also, building permits fell 7.0 percent to an annual rate of 715,000 in April from the revised March rate of 769,000.
The major averages all were near their worst levels of the day as the Dow slipped 33.45 points or 0.3 percent to finish at 12,598.55, while the NASDAQ fell 19.72 points or 0.7 percent to end at 2,874.04 and the S&P 500 dropped 5.86 points or 0.4 percent to 1,324.80. The losses extended a recent downward move by the major averages, with the Dow hitting a nearly four-month closing low, while the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 set new three-month lows.
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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.