Bangkok: The health of Thailand's 88-year-old king Bhumibol Adulyadej has "not yet stabilised", the royal palace said on Wednesday night, amid unprecedented concern over the world's longest-serving monarch.
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Earlier Thailand's military government urged people not to listen to rumours on social media about "situations", saying they should await official announcements.
The palace said the king's blood pressure had lowered again, his pulse rate had increased, there were high levels of acid in his blood and his liver function was abnormal.
The king was also on a ventilator.
The announcement was made three hours after Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, the heir apparent, entered the Bangkok's Siriraj hospital, where the king has been battling a number of ailments for several years.
The Crown Prince arrived back in the country on Wednesday from Germany, where he reportedly owns a lakeside villa.
Other members of the royal family were also at the hospital.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha cut short a trip to the eastern province of Chonburi on Wednesday to meet the Crown Prince, a military officer who did part of his training and education in Australia and was designated heir apparent by the king in 1972.
The Thai stock index plunged 6.8 per cent on Wednesday afternoon, presumably in response to a flurry of rumours about the king's health, days after the palace said he was in an unstable condition.
Thais have begun to wear pink en masse to show their hope for the recovery of the king, who has not been seen in public for months as he battles a series of ailments in Bangkok's Siriraj hospital.
Huge crowds of well-wishers are also going to Bangkok's Grand Palace where they sign well-wisher books, make flower offerings and bow before the king's portrait.
Many others are turning up at temples to pray for the monarch.
Wanna Sirikhet, a 69-year-old woman from southern Narathiwat province, travelled more than 1100 kilometres to the hospital after learning about king's health and the "wear pink for his majesty" campaign on social media.
"I came here to pray for the king and I believe that millions of Thais nationwide are now praying for his quick recovery as well," she told the Bangkok Post.
A Facebook page called "We love Thai King" has more than 2.5 million members.
Royal astrologers said a few years ago that pink was good for the king and would help promote his wellbeing.
The outpouring of support was sparked by a statement last Sunday saying the king's condition was "not stable" following haemodialysis treatment, a process to purify the blood.
Statements about the king's health are usually only made after the monarch's condition shows improvement.
Concern over the king's health as the country possibly confronts a royal transition has hit investor confidence in Thailand's economy over the past four days, causing a drop in the baht currency and volatility in the stock index.
Analysts say no member of the royal family has the same moral authority as the king, who has been seen as a unifying figure in the south-east Asian country.
Thailand has been ruled by a military government since 2014, when generals staged a coup to topple the democratically elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra, the country's first woman leader.
Strict laws protecting the royal family suppress news about the king's health and royal transition.
