Renewed Selling Pressure Expected For South Korea Shares

The South Korea stock market on Wednesday ended the two-day slide in which it had retreated almost 40 points or 1.4 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,480-point plateau although it’s expected to head south again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests major consolidation on the deteriorating outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index climbed 27.62 points or 1.12 percent to finish at 2,484.43 after trading between 2,462.82 and 2,492.00. Volume was 421.9 million shares worth 6.9 trillion won. There were 582 gainers and 302 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial jumped 2.77 percent, while KB Financial rallied 3.32 percent, Hana Financial collected 2.57 percent, Samsung Electronics improved 1.29 percent, Samsung SDI spiked 4.45 percent, LG Electronics soared 5.41 percent, SK Hynix fell 0.27 percent, Naver strengthened 1.43 percent, LG Chem climbed 1.17 percent, Lotte Chemical improved 2.06 percent, SK Innovation eased 0.17 percent, POSCO Holdings strengthened 1.70 percent, SK Telecom advanced 1.05 percent, Hyundai Mobis skyrocketed 5.22 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 4.84 percent, Kia Motors surged 6.37 percent and KEPCO was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is brutal as the major averages opened flat on Wednesday and stayed that way for most of the session before plummeting after the FOMC’s interest rate statement.

The Dow crashed 1,123.03 points or 2.58 percent to finish at 42,326.87, while the NASDAQ tanked 716.37 points or 3.56 percent to close at 19,392.69 and the S&P 500 sank 178.45 points or 2.95 percent to end at 5,872.16.

The sell-off on Wall Street came after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to lower interest rates by a quarter-point but forecast fewer than previously estimated rate cuts next year.

With the rate cut almost universally expected, the focus of the announcement was on Fed officials’ latest economic projections. The latest projections suggest rates will be in a range of 3.75 to 4.0 percent by the end of 2025 compared to the range of 3.25 to 3.50 percent forecast in September.

Assuming the Fed lowers rates by a quarter-point, the projections point to just two rate cuts next year compared to the four previously forecast as Fed officials expect inflation to come in hotter than previously estimated in 2025.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, rebounding from recent losses after data showed a drop in crude inventories and an increase in gasoline stockpiles last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January closed up $0.50 or 0.71 percent at $70.58 a barrel.