South Korea Stock Market May Run Out Of Steam On Friday

The South Korea stock market has tracked higher in back-to-back sessions, gathering almost 40 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,775-point plateau although investors may lock in gains on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, thanks to fears of an economic slowdown. The European and U.S. markets finished sharply lower and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Thursday following gains from the oil, steel and chemical companies and mixed performances from the financials, technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index added 6.99 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 2,777.68. Volume was 463.9 million shares worth 10.6 trillion won. There were 632 gainers and 247 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial strengthened 1.51 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.46 percent, Hana Financial fell 0.31 percent, Samsung Electronics dropped 0.95 percent, Samsung SDI soared 4.54 percent, LG Electronics slipped 0.29 percent, SK Hynix shed 0.67 percent, Naver gained 0.57 percent, LG Chem accelerated 2.78 percent, Lotte Chemical advanced 0.89 percent, S-Oil perked 0.15 percent, SK Innovation surged 2.88 percent, POSCO rallied 3.13 percent, SK Telecom sank 0.74 percent, KEPCO spiked 2.28 percent, Hyundai Mobis lost 0.45 percent, Hyundai Motor jumped 1.81 percent and Kia Motors was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday but quickly headed south and finished deep under water.

The Dow plummeted 494.82 points or 1.21 percent to finish at 40,347.97, while the NASDAQ tumbled 405.26 points or 2.30 percent to close at 17,194.14 and the S&P 500 sank 75.62 points or 1.37 percent to end at 5,446.68.

The sell-off on Wall Street came as disappointing data led to concerns about the outlook for the U.S. economy and offset optimism about a near-term interest rate cut by Federal Reserve.

The Institute for Supply Management released a report showing U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted at an accelerated rate in July.

The Labor Department also released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose to their highest level in almost a year last week.

Oil futures settled lower on Thursday on concerns about disappointing economic data and the outlook for oil demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended down $1.60 or about 2.05 percent at $76.31 a barrel.