South Korea Tipped To Halt Slide On Thursday

The South Korea stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, slumping more than 25 points or 1 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,560-point plateau although it’s likely to stop the bleeding on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat following a clear result in the U.S. presidential election. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Wednesday as losses from the technology and industrial shares were mitigated by support from the financial sector.

For the day, the index lost 13.37 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 2,563.51 after trading between 2,544.04 and 2,592.75. Volume was 538.2 million shares worth 11.6 trillion won. There were 552 decliners and 324 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial soared 3.32 percent, while KB Financial rallied 3.30 percent, Hana Financial jumped 1.98 percent, Samsung Electronics shed 0.52 percent, Samsung SDI plunged 5.98 percent, LG Electronics shed 0.54 percent, SK Hynix improved 1.35 percent, Naver dipped 0.11 percent, LG Chem plummeted 5.12 percent, Lotte Chemical climbed 1.02 percent, SK Innovation tanked 4.64 percent, POSCO surrendered 5.01 percent, SK Telecom spiked 1.77 percent, KEPCO surged 3.82 percent, Hyundai Mobis declined 1.22 percent, Hyundai Motor stumbled 3.95 percent and Kia Motors retreated 2.06 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher and only accelerated as the day progressed, ending at session highs.

The Dow surged 1,508.05 points or 3.57 percent to finish at 43,729.93, while the NASDAQ rallied 544.29 points or 2.95 percent to close at 18,983.46 and the S&P 500 spiked 146.28 points or 2.53 percent to end at 5,929.04.

The extended rally on Wall Street came after former President Trump was declared the winner in the presidential election versus Vice President Kamala Harris.

The decisive victory helped avoid the uncertainty that would be created by a prolonged vote counting process and potential legal challenges.

Traders will turn their attention to the Federal Reserve, which is due to announce its latest monetary policy decision later today. The Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates by 25 basis points, but the accompanying statement could the impact the outlook for future rate cuts.

Oil prices drifted lower on Wednesday after data showed crude inventories in the U.S. rose more than expected last week, while a stronger dollar also weighed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December closed down $0.30 or 0.42 percent at $71.69 a barrel.

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