South Korea Shares May See Mild Upside On Thursday

The South Korea stock market headed south again on Wednesday, one session after snapping the two-day slide in which it had slumped more than 70 points or 2.8 percent. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,640-point plateau although it may tick higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher thanks mainly to bargain hunting after heavy selling in the region. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, chemicals and technology stocks.

For the day, the index dropped 29.25 points or 1.10 percent to finish at 2,639.06 after trading between 2,615.50 and 2,641.82. Volume was 1.06 billion shares worth 12.40 trillion won. There were 695 decliners and 193 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial stumbled 1.20 percent, while KB Financial plunged 3.50 percent, Hana Financial tumbled 2.12 percent, Samsung Electronics retreated 1.66 percent, Samsung SDI jumped 1.55 percent, LG Electronics skidded 1.65 percent, Naver and SK Hynix both tanked 2.25 percent, LG Chem sank 2.53 percent, Lotte Chemical slumped 2.08 percent, S-Oil rallied 2.44 percent, SK Innovation shed 0.47 percent, POSCO surrendered 2.11 percent, SK Telecom plummeted 3.73 percent, KEPCO declined 1.41 percent, Kia Motors dipped 0.24 percent and Hyundai Motor was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up mixed and flat after the major averages shook off early support on Wednesday, fading late and ending on opposite sides of the unchanged line.

The Dow added 61.75 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 33,301.93, while the NASDAQ eased 1.81 points or 0.01 percent to close at 12,488.93 and the S&P 500 rose 8.76 points or 0.21 percent to end at 4,183.96.

The markets had opened higher on bargain hunting and earnings optimism but gave back most of those gains as the day progressed on worries over a Covid-fueled economic slowdown and the outlook for interest rates.

In economic news, the National Association of Realtors said that pending home sales fell for the fifth straight month in March, although the decline was less than expected.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, lifted by data showing a drop in gasoline and distillate stockpiles last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for rose $0.32 or 0.3 percent at $102.02 a barrel.