Stock market leaders are eager to learn about the interim government’s economic policies following the appointment of a new prime minister today. They hope that experienced economic ministers and effective policies will help address short-term economic issues and attract increased investment to the Thai stock market.
Asadej Kongsiri, President of the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), emphasized that having finance and commerce ministers who understand economic fundamentals, the capital market, and business dynamics could positively influence Thailand’s struggling economy, which underperforms within the region.
“The prime minister should be capable of uniting cabinet members and forming a cohesive economic team capable of tackling challenges within their respective areas,” he stated to the Bangkok Post.
Soraphol Tulayasathien, Senior Executive Vice-President of the SET, expressed hope for increased government spending after the approval of the fiscal 2026 budget to stimulate the economy in the second half of the year.
“With exports expected to weaken further, we want to see greater budget disbursement to support the Thai economy,” he added.
Recently, global markets, including the SET, were lifted by signals from the Federal Reserve indicating potential monetary easing, as Fed Chair Jerome Powell suggested a possible rate cut in September following weaker July non-farm payroll data.
Meanwhile, foreign capital outflows from both the Thai bond and equity markets persisted amid widening yield spreads between Thai and US government bonds. The Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to cut interest rates by 0.25 basis points to 1.5% contributed to the SET’s 0.5% decline in August.
As of August’s end, the SET closed at 1,236.61 points, marking an 11.7% decrease year-to-date, underperforming compared to other regional markets.
Thailand’s Q2 GDP growth slowed to 2.8% year-on-year from 3.2% in the previous quarter, mainly due to weakness in the non-agricultural sectors.
“Overall net profit growth among listed companies in the second quarter supported stock price gains, particularly for companies with better-than-expected earnings,” noted Mr. Soraphol.
Average daily trading value on the SET and Market for Alternative Investment rose by 10.1% year-on-year to 50.7 billion baht, with a year-to-date average of 43.0 billion baht, down 3.1% from last year.
Foreign investors continued to dominate trading, accounting for 51.5% of total turnover—the highest among all investor groups. However, they posted a net selling of 21.8 billion baht in August, reversing their net buying in July.
In the first eight months of the year, sectors such as technology, financials, industrials, and resources outperformed the overall SET index.