Bangkok, Feb 21, 2026, 15:26 ICT — Market closed
- SET Index ended Friday down 0.95% at 1,479.71, snapping a four-session rise
- Foreign investors were net buyers; local institutions were net sellers
- Traders are watching domestic politics, late-stage earnings and MSCI-driven flows
Thailand’s benchmark SET Index ended Friday at 1,479.71, down 0.95%, as sellers knocked it off a four-session rise. Turnover was 90.5 billion baht and trading by value was heaviest in TRUE, Bangkok Bank, PTT, Kasikornbank and Krung Thai Bank, exchange data showed. (SET)
The pullback matters because Thai stocks go into the new week with a lot of cross-currents and not much conviction. Traders talk about domestic politics in the same breath as dividends and earnings, and the tape can turn fast when liquidity thins.
One focus is MSCI’s index review reshuffle — the kind of mechanical reset that can force passive funds to buy and sell at the same time. It’s not a macro story, but it can move big, widely held stocks in a hurry.
“Risk-reducing selling pressure” spread across several sectors on Friday, “especially on stocks that had risen sharply previously,” said Nattapol Khamthakruea, an assistant managing director in Yuanta Securities (Thailand)’s securities analysis unit. He said banks held up on dividend-payment news, and he flagged politics and an MSCI-related adjustment next week as near-term pressure points; Yuanta put support at 1,470-1,475 and resistance at 1,490. The session also saw “big lot” block trades — off-market deals — including a CPALL ticket worth about 255 million baht, the report said. (Money & Banking Magazine)
Foreign investors were net buyers on the day, but the index still drifted lower as local selling outweighed the flow. That mix can flip quickly when headline risk rises.
Overseas, Wall Street ended lower on Thursday, and crude rose on fears of a U.S.-Iran military conflict — the sort of backdrop that tends to keep risk appetite fragile in Asia when trading resumes. (Reuters)
The risk case is straightforward: if political uncertainty drags, or if index-linked selling bites harder than traders expect, the market’s support zones get tested and dip-buying goes quiet. The other way around is messier — it would take clearer politics and decent earnings follow-through to pull money back into laggards.
For Monday’s open, traders in Bangkok will be watching the remaining rush of results and dividend calls, and any fresh signals on the election-ballot issue flagged by brokers. The market has also been sensitive to oil swings, given the weight of energy and related names in local portfolios.
Trading resumes on Monday after the weekend break, with no exchange holiday shown for late February on the SET’s 2026 calendar.
The next hard catalyst is MSCI’s February index review implementation. MSCI said “all changes will be made as of the close of February 27, 2026.” (Msci)
