The South Korea stock market has climbed higher in three straight sessions, gathering more than 30 points or 1.1 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 3,015-point plateau although it figures to run out of steam on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on omicron coronavirus concerns and sinking oil prices. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financials and mixed performances from the technology stocks, oil companies and industrials.
For the day, the index gained 11.32 points or 0.38 percent to finish at the daily high of 3,017.73 after moving as low as 2,984.19. Volume was 438 million shares worth 11.2 trillion won. There were 510 gainers and 344 decliners.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial jumped 2.26 percent, while KB Financial spiked 3.18 percent, Hana Financial collected 2.63 percent, Samsung Electronics rose 0.26 percent, LG Electronics dipped 0.38 percent, SK Hynix tumbled 1.61 percent, Naver sank 0.77 percent, LG Chem retreated 1.13 percent, Lotte Chemical accelerated 2.85 percent, S-Oil lost 0.45 percent, SK Innovation climbed 1.10 percent, POSCO rallied 3.00 percent, SK Telecom soared 3.75 percent, KEPCO added 0.69 percent, Kia Motors declined 1.28 percent and Hyundai Motor was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on a volatile Friday. The NASDAQ peeked briefly into the green but the markets all still finished in the red.
The Dow plunged 532.16 points or 1.48 percent to finish at 35,365.44, while the NASDAQ dipped 10.72 points or 0.07 percent to close at 15,169.68 and the S&P 500 sank 48.03 points or 1.03 percent to end at 4,620.64. For the week, the NASDAQ plunged 2.9 percent, the Dow lost 1.7 percent and the S&P was down 1.9 percent.
The volatility on Wall Street came on a quadruple witching day, with stock options, index options, stock futures and index futures all expiring.
Concerns about the impact of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus also weighed on the markets along with worries about ongoing supply chain issues.
Crude oil prices tumbled Friday on concerns for energy demand due to a rapid surge in Omicron variant of the coronavirus and reimposition of restrictions. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January sank $1.52 or 2.1 percent at $70.86 a barrel. WTI crude futures shed 1.1 percent in the week.
Market Analysis
Rally Expected To Stall For South Korea Stock Market
2021-12-19 23:00:17
