South Korea Shares May Open Under Pressure On Thursday

The South Korea stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, slipping more than 20 points pr 0.8 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 2,580-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on pessimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

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

For the day, the index shed 14.31 points or 0.55 percent to finish at 2,579.00. Volume was 589.2 million shares worth 10.05 trillion won. There were 632 decliners and 243 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial dropped 1.03 percent, while KB Financial retreated 1.34 percent, Hana Financial declined 1.26 percent, Samsung Electronics stumbled 1.37 percent, Samsung SDI shed 0.42 percent, SK Hynix slumped 1.02 percent, Naver skidded 1.17 percent, LG Chem lost 0.59 percent, Lotte Chemical dipped 0.26 percent, S-Oil sank 0.92 percent, SK Innovation added 0.36 percent, POSCO perked 0.12 percent, SK Telecom tumbled 1.64 percent, KEPCO tanked 1.70 percent, Hyundai Mobis gained 0.65 percent, Hyundai Motor weakened 1.20 percent, Kia Motors fell 0.90 percent and LG Electronics was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and largely spent the day in the red, ending near session lows.

The Dow dropped 129.83 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 34,288.64, while the NASDAQ sank 25.12 points or 0.18 percent to close at 13,791.65 and the S&P 500 fell 8.77 points or 0.20 percent to end at 4,446.82.

The selling pressure came ahead of, and in response to, the latest batch of FOMC minutes which suggested a more hawkish tone for the outlook on interest rates than had been hoped.

The minutes also showed the members disagreed on rate hikes. After the June meeting, all but two of the 18 participants expected that at least one hike would be appropriate this year, and 12 expected two or more hikes.

In economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing new orders for U.S. manufactured goods increased by much less than expected in May.

Crude oil futures settled sharply higher on Wednesday, buoyed by government data showing a significant jump in U.S. crude shipments last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $2.00 or 2.9 percent at $71.79 a barrel.