KOSPI Again Tipped To Open Under Pressure On Thursday

The South Korea stock market has finished lower in five straight sessions, sinking more than 90 points or 3.6 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,485-point plateau and it’s got another negative lead for Thursday’s trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on renewed concerns over the health of the financial sectors, although support from technology stocks should limit the downside. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished slightly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financials and chemicals and mixed performances from the technology and industrial sectors.

For the day, the index dipped 4.19 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 2,484.83. Volume was 1.01 billion shares worth 12.24 trillion won. There were 548 decliners and 318 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial dropped 0.84 percent, while KB Financial retreated 1.61 percent, Hana Financial eased 0.12 percent, Samsung Electronics improved 0.79 percent, Samsung SDI slumped 0.42 percent, LG Electronics slid 0.46 percent, SK Hynix rallied 2.22 percent, Naver climbed 1.07 percent, LG Chem tumbled 2.02 percent, Lotte Chemical lost 0.47 percent, S-Oil declined 1.56 percent, SK Innovation jumped 1.37 percent, POSCO tanked 2.11 percent, SK Telecom shed 0.52 percent, KEPCO sank 0.75 percent, Hyundai Mobis plummeted 6.53 percent, Hyundai Motor rose 0.25 percent and Kia Motors skidded 1.04 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, but the Dow and S&P 500 quickly fell into the red while the NASDAQ stayed positive throughout the day.

The Dow stumbled 228.96 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 33,301.87, while the NASDAQ gained 55.19 points or 0.47 percent to close at 11,854.35 and the S&P 500 fell 15.64 points or 0.38 percent to end at 4,055.99.

The mixed performance on Wall Street came as traders weighed upbeat tech earnings against renewed concerns about turmoil in the banking sector.

The rebound by the NASDAQ reflected a positive reaction to earnings news from Microsoft (MSFT) and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), among others.

On the other hand, shares of First Republic (FRC) extended the steep drop seen in the previous session, which came after the regional bank reported a loss of more than $100 billion in deposits in the first quarter, renewing concerns about turmoil in the banking sector.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods surged much more than expected in March amid a substantial rebound in orders for transportation equipment.

Crude oil futures ended sharply lower Wednesday as worries about the outlook for energy demand dragged down oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June were down $2.77 or 3.6 percent to settle at $74.30 a barrel.