The South Korea stock market has moved lower in five straight sessions, retreating almost 130 points or 4.4 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,840-point plateau and it’s looking at another red light for Thursday’s trade.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests further consolidation as rising bond yields continue to hammer technology stocks – although support from crude oil may limit the downside. The European markets were up and the U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the industrials, gains from the financials and mixed performances from the oil and chemical companies.
For the day, the index dropped 21.96 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 2,842.28 after trading between 2,832.18 and 2,871.79. Volume was 457 million shares worth 9.6 trillion won. There were 653 decliners and 203 gainers.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial climbed 1.54 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.32 percent, Hana Financial soared 3.30 percent, Samsung Electronics dropped 0.91 percent, LG Electronics lost 0.72 percent, SK Hynix added 0.40 percent, Naver declined 1.63 percent, LG Chem plummeted 5.91 percent, Lotte Chemical rallied 2.40 percent, S-Oil surged 3.82 percent, SK Innovation plunged 3.86 percent, POSCO shed 0.52 percent, SK Telecom sank 0.71 percent, KEPCO rose 0.24 percent, Hyundai Motor skidded 0.99 percent and Kia Motors retreated 1.46 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages were unable to hold on to early gains on Wednesday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before finishing in the red for the second straight session.
For the day, the Dow tumbled 339.82 points or 0.96 percent to finish at 35,028.65, while the NASDAQ dropped 166.64 points or 1.15 percent to close at 14,340.25 and the S&P 500 sank 44.35 points or 0.97 percent to end at 4.532.76.
The late slide on Wall Street came amid rising Treasury yields and worries over inflation and looming interest rate hikes after U.S. Treasury yields hit fresh two-year highs amid Fed rate hike expectations.
Most analysts believe a rate hike of at least 25 basis points from the FOMC is imminent, although some are now starting to think it may be a 50 bp boost.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said that U.S. homebuilding increased to a nine-month high in December amid a surge in multi-family housing projects.
Crude oil prices continued their recent upward surge on Wednesday, rising for the fifth straight day to a fresh seven-year high following supply issues in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate for February contract jumped $1.22 or 1.43 percent to $86.65 per barrel.
Market Analysis
Tech Shares Likely To Extend KOSPI’s Woes
2022-01-19 23:00:15
