The South Korea stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, slipping more than 20 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 3,260-point plateau although it’s looking at a steady start on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with weakness from crude oil prices tempered by support from technology stocks. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.
The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Monday as losses from the industrial stocks were tempered by support from the financial shares.
For the day, the index shed 9.94 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 3,260.42 after trading between 3,251.74 and 3,275.15. Volume was 685 million shares worth 15.5 trillion won. There were 647 decliners and 208 gainers.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.90 percent, while KB Financial jumped 1.53 percent, Hana Financial rallied 2.43 percent, LG Electronics spiked 2.55 percent, SK Hynix tumbled 1.69 percent, Naver added 0.67 percent, LG Chem gained 0.48 percent, Lotte Chemical shed 0.57 percent, S-Oil tanked 2.37 percent, POSCO skidded 1.03 percent, SK Telecom retreated 1.15 percent, Hyundai Motor shed 0.67 percent, Kia Motors rose 0.70 percent and Samsung Electronics and SK Innovation were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street continues to be incongruous as the major averages opened lower on Monday; the NASDAQ quickly broke modestly into the green, while the Dow and the S&P 500 remained negative throughout.
The Dow shed 106.99 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 35,101.52, while the NASDAQ rose 24.42 points or 0.16 percent to close at 14,860.18 and the S&P 500 fell 4.16 points or 0.09 percent to end at 4,432.36.
Stocks continued to turn in a mixed performance following last Friday’s better than expected U.S. jobs data. The closely watched report from the Labor Department added to economic optimism but also raised concerns about the outlook for monetary policy.
Gold stocks showed a substantial move to the downside, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index plunging by 2.6 percent. The sell-off by gold stocks came amid another steep drop by the price of the precious metal, as gold for December delivery plummeted $36.60 to $1,726.50 an ounce.
Crude oil prices declined sharply on Monday amid concerns about outlook for energy demand after China imposed travel curbs at many places in the country, aiming to halt the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended down $1.80 or 2.6 percent at $66.48 a barrel.
Market Analysis
South Korea Stock Market May Find Traction On Tuesday
2021-08-09 23:00:23
