Mild Upside Predicted For South Korea Shares

The South Korea stock market on Thursday halted the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 25 points or 1 percent. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,460-point plateau although it may tick higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to higher, ahead of closely watched employment data from the U.S. later today. The European and U.S. bourses saw mild upside and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Thursday with damage across the board, particularly among the financials, industrials and technology stocks.

For the day, the index tumbled 35.98 points or 1.44 percent to finish at 2,459.23. Volume was 736.7 million shares worth 11.1 trillion won. There were 700 decliners and 191 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial retreated 2.14 percent, while KB Financial tumbled 2.51 percent, Hana Financial declined 2.06 percent, Samsung Electronics tanked 2.50 percent, Samsung SDI plunged 4.24 percent, LG Electronics slumped2.48 percent, SK Hynix dropped 0.95 percent, Naver plummeted 3.66 percent, LG Chem lost 2.19 percent, Lotte Chemical dropped 0.98 percent, S-Oil stumbled 1.47 percent, SK Innovation shed 1.62 percent, POSCO surrendered 2.95 percent, SK Telecom eased 0.21 percent, KEPCO added 0.67 percent, Hyundai Mobis sank 0.92 percent, Hyundai Motor sank 0.86 percent and Kia Motors fell 0.37 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages shook off early weakness to move higher and end in the green.

The Dow perked 2.57 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 33,485.29, while the NASDAQ jumped 91.09 points or 0.76 percent to end at 12,087.96 and the S&P 500 rose 14.64 added 14.64 points or 0.36 percent to close at 4,105.02.

The markets are closed on Good Friday; for the holiday-shortened week, the Dow climbed by 0.6 percent, while the S&P 500 eased 0.1 percent and the tech-heavy NASDAQ slumped 1.1 percent.

The early weakness on Wall Street reflected lingering concerns about the economic outlook following disappointing data. The Labor Department noted a drop in initial jobless claims last week.

Selling pressure waned shortly after the start of trading, however, as traders seem reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the Labor Department’s more closely watched employment report later today.

Crude oil futures settled slightly higher Thursday and posted gains for a third straight week, buoyed by OPEC’s decision to cut production. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $0.09 at $80.70 a barrel. WTI crude rose gained more than 6 percent this week.