Bargain Hunting May Boost South Korea Stock Market

The South Korean stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, sinking more than 50 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just shy of the 2,950-point plateau although it’s due for support on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with support expected from oil and technology companies. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares, automobile producers, technology stocks and oil companies.

For the day, the index lost 15.04 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 2,947.38 after trading between 2,937.53 and 2,964.48. Volume was 533 million shares worth 9.9 trillion won. There were 608 decliners and 256 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial sank 0.80 percent, while KB Financial dipped 0.18 percent, Hana Financial retreated 1.29 percent, Samsung Electronics shed 0.71 percent, LG Electronics slid 0.41 percent, SK Hynix fell 0.45 percent, Naver jumped 1.50 percent, LG Chem advanced 0.91 percent, Lotte Chemical surrendered 0.95 percent, S-Oil tanked 2.21 percent, SK Innovation tumbled 1.80 percent, POSCO declined 0.72 percent, KEPCO lost 0.45 percent, Hyundai Motor dropped 0.97 percent, Kia Motors skidded 1.07 percent and SK Telecom was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed as the Dow opened in the red Thursday and remained there throughout the session, while the NASDAQ and S&P shrugged off some early weakness to finish at fresh record closing highs.

The Dow shed 60.10 points or 0.17 percent to finish hat 35,870.95, while the NASDAQ climbed 72.14 points or 0.45 percent to close at 15,993.71 and the S&P 500 rose 15.87 points or 0.34 percent to end at 4,704.54.

The mixed performance followed mixed earnings news from some big-name companies. Retail stocks saw significant strength following upbeat results from companies like Macy’s (M), BJ’s Wholesale (BJ) and Kohl’s (KSS).

Meanwhile, a steep drop by Cisco Systems (CSCO) weighed on the Dow after the company reported better than expected fiscal first quarter earnings but provided disappointing guidance.

In economic news, Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits were nearly unchanged, down by 1,000 from last week. Also, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed jump in the pace of growth in regional manufacturing activity in November.

Crude oil futures settled higher Thursday, bouncing back after early weakness, despite uncertainty about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December gained $0.65 or 0.8 percent at $79.01 a barrel.