Mr. Suwat Wattanapornprom, Director of the Research Division, Investment Strategy, at Krungsri Securities (KSS), stated in the “Kaohoon” program on May 22, 2026, that the investment climate in the Asian region started to become brighter, largely due to the easing tensions in the Middle East, as the United States and Iran has shown motivation in resuming negotiations.
Earlier this week, oil prices surged to around $110-112 per barrel, raising investors’ concerns over the secondary effects, inflation, U.S. bond yields, and global economic risks.
However, as the situation heads toward de-escalation, oil prices have declined and the U.S. 10-year bond yield has started to relax from its highest level in the past year. This has resulted in improved investment sentiment toward risk assets.
Domestically, the overall catalyst is improving, especially with the government’s policy support. 1Q26 economic figures were quite strong, and April’s bank loan growth showed a positive sign—expanding by 0.6% compared to the previous month, despite market concerns about war and rising energy prices.
Mr. Suwat recommends investors closely monitor next week’s export and import data, which are expected to have a positive momentum, as well as progress on long-term investment promotion measures or TISA, which the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revisited. Should the criteria be favorable, it may attract long-term investments into the Thai stock market.
For domestic investments, there has been a net buying trend over the past 2-3 trading sessions. The analyst estimated that institutional investors’ selling pressure may have been decreasing after portfolio adjustments following the 1Q26 earnings season. Meanwhile, several sectors affected by war concerns—such as SPP power plants, tourism, aviation, hospitals, retail, and leasing—have dropped about 10-15% compared to pre-war levels, even though the fundamental impact may only be short-term.
Therefore, should the Middle East situation continue moving toward de-escalation, market participants may re-evaluate the sectors that have corrected deeply, which could lead to a stable recovery.
For investment strategies, Mr. Suwat recommended two themes: the De-Escalation theme, which may recover along with the market; the highlighted stock is CENTEL. For the government investment and green economy theme, the PDP plan is likely to be pushed forward, as such GULF is selected as a key stock, along with KBANK, which benefits from expanding credit and general economic recovery.
