The winning streak has stretched to five sessions now for the Thai stock market, which has collected nearly 40 points or 3.8 percent in the process. The Stock Exchange of Thailand finished just below the 920-point plateau, and now analysts are forecasting another strong opening for the market on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive, keyed by positive economic data out of the United States and China. Oil stocks are expected to provide support, as are the steel and financial sectors. The European and U.S. markets finished sharply higher, and now the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.
The SET finished modestly higher on Wednesday, riding gains from the financials and energy stocks.
For the day, the index added 6.15 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 919.34 after trading between 914.36 and 924.88. Volume was 9.885 billion shares worth 49.075 billion baht. There were 216 decliners and 174 gainers, with 108 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the gainers, energy giant PTT was up 2.26 percent, while Siam Concrete added 3.04 percent, coal producer Banpu collected 0.98 percent, Siam Commercial Bank gained 1.84 percent and Kasikornbank surged 4.61 percent.
Wall Street puts forth a very optimistic lead as stocks saw substantial gains to open the traditionally slow month of September on Wednesday, with data showing a pickup in manufacturing activity in both the U.S. and China recharging some hopes of a continued economic recovery. The rally was further fueled by a better than expected reading on resource-linked Australian GDP.
On the economic front, the Institute for Supply Management reported that its index of U.S. manufacturing activity rose to 56.3 in August from 55.5 in July, surprising economists who had expected the index to dip to 52.9.
Market sentiment was already upbeat ahead of the report, as data from Markit Economics showed that Chinese manufacturing activity expanded after a two-month contraction. The headline index came in at 51.9, up from 49.4 in July.
Early optimism was also generated by a report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing that Australian GDP rose by 1.2 percent in the second quarter compared to the 0.7 percent growth seen in the previous quarter. Economists had expected the economy to grow by 0.9 percent.
Meanwhile, the day's second-tier economic data from the U.S. saw little reaction. The Commerce Department said that construction spending fell by 1.0 percent in July, which was steeper than expected.
Also, Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) reported that private sector employment fell by 10,000 jobs in August, while economists had forecast an increase of 13,000 jobs.
On the corporate front, General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. (F) both reported drops in their U.S. vehicle sales for August compared to the same month last year, when sales were boosted by the U.S. government's "Cash for Clunkers" incentive program. GM reported a 25 percent drop in U.S. vehicle sales for August, while Ford reported an 11 percent decline.
The major averages saw further upside in late-session dealing, ending near their best levels of the day. The Dow shot up by 254.75 points or 2.5 percent to 10,269.47, the NASDAQ surged by 62.81 points or 3 percent to 2,176.84 and the S&P 500 advanced by 30.96 points or 3 percent to 1,080.29.
In economic news, Thailand's consumer prices rose at a pace of 3.3 percent in August from the previous year, the Commerce Ministry said on Wednesday. August's growth was slower than the prior month's 3.4 percent increase. Consensus forecast was for 3.2 percent.
The core consumer price index gained 1.2 percent annually, unchanged from the prior month's growth. Economists had expected core annual inflation to rise to 1.3 percent.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.