Rebound Predicted For South Korea Stock Market

The South Korea stock market on Friday wrote a finish to the three-day winning streak in which it had collected almost 30 points or 1.1 percent. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,740-point plateau although it may tick higher again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on upbeat U.S. jobs data and sinking crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were slightly higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks, chemical companies and industrials.

For the day, the index dropped 17.80 points or 0.65 percent to finish at 2,739.85 after trading between 2,729.68 and 2,745.85. Volume was 1.3 billion shares worth 10.6 trillion won. There were 489 decliners and 363 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial eased 0.12 percent, while KB Financial dropped 0.82 percent, Hana Financial fell 0.41 percent, Samsung Electronics shed 0.72 percent, LG Electronics plunged 2.49 percent, SK Hynix and LG Chem both retreated 1.69 percent, Samsung SDI sank 1.51 percent, Naver stumbled 1.47 percent, LG Energy Solutions tanked 3.17 percent, Lotte Chemical tumbled 1.67 percent, S-Oil strengthened 1.65 percent, POSCO declined 1.71 percent, SK Telecom added 0.53 percent, KEPCO climbed 1.32 percent, Hyundai Motor surrendered 1.39 percent, Kia Motors perked 0.27 percent and SK Innovation was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as a late rally pushed the major averages into the green late in Friday’s session after a sluggish start.

The Dow jumped 139.92 points or 0.40 percent to finish at 34,818.27, while the NASDAQ added 40.98 points or 0.29 percent to close at 14,261.50 and the S&P 500 rose 15.45 points or 0.34 percent to end at 4,545.86. For the week, the Dow eased 0.1 percent, the NASDAQ gained 0.7 percent and the S&P rose 0.1 percent.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders expressed some uncertainty about the outlook for the markets after the major averages experienced their first negative quarter since the first quarter of 2020.

For the first three months of 2022, the NASDAQ plummeted 9.1 percent and the S&P 500 and Dow dove 4.9 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively, although the major averages regained some ground in March.

Traders were also digesting the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report, which showed employment increased less than expected in March but the unemployment rate still fell to a new pandemic-era low.

Crude oil prices dropped Friday, extending their slide from the previous session as International Energy Agency members have agreed to release oil from strategic reserve to stabilize global energy markets. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended down by $1.01 or 1 percent at $99.27 a barrel. WTI crude futures shed nearly 13 percent in the week, posting the biggest weekly loss in two years.