South Korea Stock Market May Turn Lower Again On Thursday

The South Korea stock market on Wednesday halted the six-day slide in which it had tumbled almost 180 points or 6 percent. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 2,900-point plateau although it may head south again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on lockdown concerns resulting from the Omicron strain of COVID-19. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher Wednesday on bargain hunting, particularly among the financials, technology stocks and industrials.

For the day, the index jumped 60.71 points or 2.14 percent to finish at 2,899.72 after trading between 2,837.03 and 2,905.74. Volume was 553 million shares worth 12.1 trillion won. There were 773 gainers and 122 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial climbed 1.73 percent, while KB Financial collected 2.08 percent, Hana Financial spiked 2.15 percent, Samsung Electronics soared 4.35 percent, LG Electronics added 3.90 percent, SK Hynix jumped 2.19 percent, Naver was up 2.36 percent, LG Chem rallied 3.46 percent, Lotte Chemical skyrocketed 10.17 percent, S-Oil improved 4.01 percent, SK Innovation gained 2.06 percent, POSCO surged 6.13 percent, SK Telecom rose 0.18 percent, KEPCO advanced 0.96 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 2.81 percent and Kia Motors increased 4.37 percent.

The lead from Wall Street ends up broadly negative as the major averages opened sharply higher on Wednesday but then plummeted deep into the red in the final hour of trade.

The Dow plunged 461.68 points or 1.34 percent to finish at 34,022.04, while the NASDAQ tumbled 283.64 points or 1.83 percent to close at 15,254.05 and the S&P 500 sank 53.96 points or 1.18 percent to end at 4,513.04.

The substantial downturn on Wall Street came after the Center for Disease Control and Prevention revealed the first confirmed case of Covid-19 caused by the new Omicron variant has been detected in the U.S.

“The individual, who was fully vaccinated and had mild symptoms that are improving, is self-quarantining and has been since testing positive,” the CDC said. “All close contacts have been contacted and have tested negative.”

Traders largely shrugged off the latest U.S. economic news, including a report from payroll processor ADP showing that private sector employment increased more than expected in November. Also, the Institute for Supply Management said manufacturing activity grew at a slightly faster rate last month.

Crude oil prices showed a strong move to the upside in early trading on Wednesday but came under pressure over the course of the session on news of the Omicron case. Crude for January delivery slumped $0.61 or 0.9 percent $65.57 a barrel, its lowest closing level in three months.