The Stock Exchange of Thailand suspended trading briefly on Wednesday (March 4), for the first time in about six years, after the SET Index fell by 8%, triggering an automatic trading halt.
The Thai main board closed the morning session at 12.18 pm in Bangkok at 1,348.99 points, down 117.52 points, as the intensifying geopolitical tension in the Middle East weighed on investor sentiment.
Shares resumed their decline when the bourse reopened at 1 pm local time but pared some of the losses to close at 1389.99, down 5.22% from the previous day’s close.
“The recent decline of the stock market index on Monday, March 2, 2026, and today [March 4] follows the same trend as global stock markets, driven by concerns over the situation in the Middle East, which has affected the volatility of financial markets and investments worldwide,” said Pornanong Budsaratragoon, Secretary-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand.
“The SEC has been closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with the Stock Exchange of Thailand,” Budsaratragoon added.
Among the significant losers were energy major Gulf Development, controlled by Thailand’s richest person Sarath Ratanavadi, which fell 10%.
The last trading suspension of the index was in March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had sent jitters across the stock market.
Equities across Asia have been hit amid fears that spiking oil prices, due to the the war in Iran, will fan inflation. There are concerns that the war could escalate into a broader regional conflict, and investors and businesses across Asia are bracing for further adverse impact from prolonged disruptions to oil and trade flows.
