Apparently co-ordinated raids late Wednesday left seven people dead in Thailand's insurgency-plagued southernmost provinces. The latest deaths bring to 1,001 the number killed since the unrest began in January 2004.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index added 0.25 points to 685.29 and the blue chip SET 50 index rose 0.64 points to 479.53.
Turnover stood at 1.5 billion shares worth 6.7 billion baht (164 million dollars) traded. Losers outnumbered gainers 176 to 110, with 112 stocks unchanged.
"The index rose marginally on technical buying of energy stocks. Buying was modest due to a lack of new leads," said Sukit Udomsirikul, senior strategist at Capital Nomura Securities.
While the index closed higher, gains were limited as foreign investors traded with caution following the fresh violence in Thailand's restive south on late Wednesday, Sukit said.
"The southern violence discouraged foreign investors from buying stocks," the strategist said.
The Thai baht closed on Thursday at 40.76-78 to one dollar, little changed from Wednesday's close of 40.79-85. Against the euro, the Thai unit closed at 49.35-48, compared with Wednesday's 49.12-58.
Among major shares, Thailand's top energy firm PTT rose 2.00 baht to 224.00 while its subsidiary PTT Exploration and Production was unchanged at 424.00.
Thai Oil edged up 1.00 to 70.00 but Thai Petrochemical Industry fell 0.10 to 13.70. Thailand's biggest commercial lender, Bangkok Bank, was unchanged at 97.50 and Thai Airways International fell 0.25 to 37.50.