Global equity markets, including the Thai bourse, were buoyed by Federal Reserve (Fed)’s signals of monetary policy easing as Fed Chair Jerome Powell's statement at the Jackson Hole conference pointed to a September rate cut amid the weaker-than-expected July non-farm payroll figures. However, foreign capital continued to flow out of both the Thai bond and equity markets amid the widening yield spread between Thai and U.S. government bonds. This followed the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)’s decision to cut the policy rate by 0.25 percent to 1.50 percent per year, resulting in the SET Index declining slightly by 0.5 percent in August 2025, compared to the end of July.
SET Senior Executive Vice President Soraphol Tulayasathien highlighted that the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) upgraded Thailand's economic growth forecast to 2.0 percent from 1.8 percent, driven by robust export performance as manufacturers accelerated shipments ahead of anticipated U.S. reciprocal tariff implementations. This upward revision came despite decelerated gross domestic product (GDP) growth which fell from 3.2 percent in Q1/2025 to 2.8 percent in Q2/2025, primarily due to weakening non-agricultural sectors, particularly tourism-related services.
Thai listed companies sustained overall net profit growth in Q2/2025, driving upward stock price momentum of companies with better-than-expected earnings. In addition, the outstanding success of Thailand Focus 2025 and reinvigorated performance of IPO stocks in the past month underscored the renewed appeal of Thai capital markets.
Key highlights for August 2025
- At the end of August, the SET Index closed at 1,236.61 points, marginally decreasing by 0.5 percent MoM after last month’s hike. The SET Index recorded a YTD decline of 11.7 percent.
- Compared to the end of 2024, industry groups that outperformed the SET Index were Technology, Financials, Industrials, and Resources.
- SET’s and Market for Alternative Investment (mai)’s average daily trading value rose 10.1 percent YoY to THB 50.67 billion (approx. USD 1.57 billion), with a YTD average daily trading value of THB 43.01 billion, decreasing 3.1 percent YoY. Foreign investors continued to dominate trading activity, accounting for 51.47 percent of total trading value which was the highest among all investor categories. However, they registered a net selling position of THB 21.82 billion, shifting from their net buying position in July 2025 to net sellers this month.
- There was one newly listed company on mai: Mukdahan International Hospital pcl (HANN).
- The Thai stock exchange’s forward P/E ratio at the end of August was 13.9 times, above the Asian stock markets’ average of 13.5 times. The historical P/E ratio stood at 14.1 times, lower than the Asian stock markets’ average of 15.4 times.
- Dividend yield ratio at the end of August was 3.99 percent, higher than the Asian stock markets’ average of 3.08 percent.
Derivatives Market
- Thailand Futures Exchange (TFEX)’s daily trading volume averaged 369,772 contracts, up 4.1 percent from the previous month largely due to the higher trading volume of Single Stock Futures and SET50 Index Options. The YTD average daily trading volume in 2025 was 419,267 contracts, down 13.3 percent mainly due to the decline in trading volume of Single Stock Futures and Gold Online Futures.
