South Korea Stock Market Tipped To Open Under Pressure

The South Korea stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the seven-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 115 points or 4.6 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,560-point plateau and it may take further damage on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on pessimism over corporate earnings and for energy demand. 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 lower on Thursday as losses from the technology and industrial companies were mitigated by support from the financial sector.

For the day, the index shed 11.97 points or 0.46 percent to finish at 2,563.11. Volume was 938 million shares worth 12.2 trillion won. There were 647 decliners and 231 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.70 percent, while KB Financial jumped 1.92 percent, Hana Financial advanced 0.83 percent, Samsung Electronics fell 0.31 percent, Samsung SDI skidded 1.19 percent, LG Electronics tumbled 2.04 percent, SK Hynix shed 0.57 percent, Naver perked 0.10 percent, LG Chem strengthened 1.27 percent, Lotte Chemical slid 0.56 percent, S-Oil stumbled 1.62 percent, SK Innovation slumped 1.12 percent, POSCO sank 0.61 percent, KEPCO climbed 1.18 percent, Hyundai Mobis added 0.44 percent, Hyundai Motor lost 0.57 percent, Kia Motors retreated 1.52 percent and SK Telecom was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and remained in the red throughout the session.

The Dow stumbled 110.39 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 33,786.62, while the NASDAQ lost 97.67 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 12,059.56 and the S&P 500 fell 24.73 points or 0.60 percent to end at 4,129.79.

The weakness on Wall Street reflected disappointment in the latest earnings news from several big-name companies including Tesla (TSLA), AT&T (T) and America Express (AXP).

Negative sentiment was also generated by disappointing U.S. economic data, including a report from the Philadelphia Federal reserve showing regional manufacturing activity contracted at an accelerated rate in April.

Crude oil prices fell sharply Thursday, extending losses from the previous session amid rising concerns about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May sank $1.87 or 2.4 percent at $77.29 a barrel on the expiration day, the lowest since March 31.