The South Korea stock market has finished lower in five straight sessions, sinking more than 60 points or 1.9 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 3,220-point plateau and it’s overdue for support on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on rising oil prices and optimism on the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Wednesday as losses from the technology stocks and automobile producers were mitigated by support from the financial sector.
For the day, the index sank 22.57 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 3,220.62 after trading between 3,217.65 and 3,250.21. Volume was 608.3 million shares worth 18.95 trillion won. There were 563 decliners and 299 gainers.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.77 percent, while KB Financial spiked 2.49 percent, Hana Financial jumped 1.69 percent, Samsung Electronics tumbled 2.12 percent, LG Electronics lost 0.95 percent, SK Hynix plummeted 6.22 percent, Naver fell 0.34 percent, LG Chem eased 0.12 percent, Lotte Chemical dropped 0.77 percent, S-Oil accelerated 2.13 percent, SK Innovation advanced 1.65 percent, POSCO rallied 2.37 percent, SK Telecom tanked 2.98 percent, KEPCO sank 0.79 percent, Hyundai Motor slid 0.23 percent and Kia Motors retreated 1.31 percent.
The lead from Wall Street has been mixed all week and Wednesday was no exception. All three of the major averages opened to the upside and the Dow and S&P stayed that way to hit fresh record closing highs; the NASDAQ quickly headed south and finished in the red.
The Dow jumped 220.30 points or 0.62 percent to finish at 35,484.97, while the NASDAQ dipped 22.95 points or 0.16 percent to close at 14,765.13 and the S&P rose 10.95 points or 0.25 percent to end at 4,447.70.
The mixed performance came after the Labor Department’s highly anticipated inflation reading was not bad as some had feared, slowing to 0.5 percent from 0.9 percent in June – suggesting that the central bank may not be in a hurry to scale back stimulus.
The recent resurgence in coronavirus cases may also weigh on the economy, leading the Fed to put off tapering plans and allowing stocks to continue to climb to record highs.
Crude oil futures settled higher on Wednesday, recovering well after an early setback, after the Biden administration said it would not ask U.S. oil producers to hike output. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended up $0.96 or 1.4 percent at $69.25 a barrel.
Market Analysis
South Korea Stock Market Set To Snap Losing Streak
2021-08-11 23:00:29
