Soft Start Called For KOSPI, Weather Permitting

The South Korea stock market on Wednesday halted the five-day losing streak in which it had tumbled more than 85 points or 3.7 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,600-point plateau and it figures to turn lower again on Thursday, unless Typhoon Khanun shuts it down for the day.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky ahead of key inflation data from the United States. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the technology stocks and automobile producers, while the financials and energy companies were soft.

For the day, the index climbed 31.14 points or 1.21 percent to finish at 2,605.12. Volume was 460.8 million shares worth 10.2 trillion won. There were 563 gainers and 322 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial retreated 1.54 percent, while KB Financial tumbled 1.93 percent, Hana Financial declined 1.43 percent, Samsung Electronics jumped 1.92 percent, Samsung SDI soared 3,26 percent, LG Electronics rallied 2.25 percent, SK Hynix improved 2.02 percent, Naver spiked 2.02 percent, LG Chem accelerated 2.44 percent, Lotte Chemical plummeted 6.58 percent, S-Oil and SK Innovation both dipped 0.26 percent, KEPCO shed 0.46 percent, Hyundai Mobis surged 2.86 percent, Hyundai Motor added 0.53 percent, Kia Motors improved 0.77 percent and POSCO and SK Telecom were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened flat on Wednesday before heading south shortly thereafter; they made back some ground as the day progressed but still finished solidly in the red.

The Dow stumbled 191.13 points or 0.54 percent to finish at 35,123.36, while the NASDAQ dropped 162.31 points or 1.17 percent to close at 13.722.02 and the S&P 500 sank 31.67 points or 0.70 percent to end at 4,467.71.

The lower close on Wall Street came as traders remained cautious ahead of the release of a key report on consumer price inflation later today.

Traders will be looking for the report to reinforce expectations that the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged next month; CME Group’s FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 86.5 percent chance the Fed will keep rates steady in September.

Crude oil prices moved higher on Wednesday, extending recent gains as output cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia continued to raise concerns about supply. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery jumped $1.48 pr 1.8 percent to $84.40 a barrel.