Oversold KOSPI May See Mild Rebound On Friday

The South Korea stock market turned emphatically lower again on Thursday, one session after finally ending the eight-day losing streak in which it had plunged more than 140 points or 4.4 percent. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 3,100-point plateau although it may bounce slightly higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed, with bargain hunting expected after heavy losses in the previous session. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Thursday with damage across the board – especially from the financials, oil companies and technology stocks.

For the day, the index tumbled 61.10 points or 1.93 percent to finish at the daily low of 3,097.83 after peaking at 3,158.00. Volume was 637 million shares worth 16.7 trillion won. There were 850 decliners and 58 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial plunged 3.72 percent, while KB Financial surrendered 3.21 percent, Hana Financial cratered 3.70 percent, Samsung Electronics skidded 1.08 percent, LG Electronics was down 3.58 percent, SK Hynix retreated 1.44 percent, Naver declined 1.05 percent, LG Chem eased 0.22 percent, Lotte Chemical lost 3.67 percent, S-Oil crashed 5.28 percent, SK Innovation dropped 4.37 percent, POSCO plummeted 4.71 percent, SK Telecom tumbled 1.53 percent, KEPCO sank 3.07 percent, Hyundai Motor tanked 2.82 percent and Kia Motors shed 3.37 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is uncertain as the major averages opened lower on Thursday but spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line, eventually ending mixed and little changed.

The Dow lost 66.57 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 34,894.12, while the NASDAQ added 15.87 points or 0.11 percent to end at 14,541 and the S&P rose 5.5 points or 0.13 percent to close at 4,405.80.

The initial downside move on Wall Street came as traders continued to digest the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy meeting, which note the increased possibility the central bank’s asset purchase program may be scaled back before the end of the year.

Potentially adding evidence to Fed officials’ view that the economy is close to the goal of maximum employment, the Labor Department released a report this morning showing initial jobless claims fell to a new pandemic-era low last week.

Bargain hunting helped to lift the markets as the session progressed.

Crude oil futures fell for a sixth straight session Thursday on worries about the outlook for energy demand after data showed a surprise build in gasoline inventories and continued spikes in coronavirus cases. West Texas Intermediate futures for September ended down $1.77 or 2.7 percent at $63.60 a barrel, a three-month low.

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