Win Streak Likely To End For South Korea Shares

The South Korea stock market has climbed higher in five straight sessions, gathering almost 85 points or 2.5 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 3,250-point plateau although investors figure to cash in on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower ahead of key U.S. jobs data later today, and the effect it may have on interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian market figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished with solid gains on Thursday, supported by technology, oil, chemical and automobile stocks.

For the day, the index gained 23.20 points or 0.72 percent to finish at 3,247.43 after trading between 3,224.96 and 3,258.50. Volume was 1.6 billion shares worth 16.7 trillion won. There were 425 gainers and 402 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial shed 0.58 percent, while KB Financial dropped 1.02 percent, Hana Financial collected 0.53 percent, Samsung Electronics spiked 2.48 percent, LG Electronics jumped 1.98 percent, SK Hynix accelerated 2.38 percent, Naver fell 0.28 percent, LG Chem added 0.62 percent, Lotte Chemical climbed 1.08 percent, S-Oil advanced 0.98 percent, SK Innovation rallied 2.06 percent, POSCO tumbled 1.84 percent, SK Telecom fell 0.45 percent, KEPCO gained 0.58 percent, Hyundai Motor rose 0.21 percent and Kia Motors improved 0.81 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks opened firmly lower on Thursday, made back some ground as the day progressed but still ended solidly in the red.

The Dow shed 23.34 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 34,577.04, while the NASDAQ plunged 141.82 points or 1.03 percent to end at 13,614.51 and the S&P 500 fell 15.27 points 0.36 percent to close at 4,192.85.

The early weakness on Wall Street came as strong jobs data led to renewed concerns about the outlook for monetary policy when payroll processor ADP said private sector employment in the U.S. spiked much more than expected in May.

Also, the Labor Department noted a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits last week. The data comes ahead of the Labor Department’s more closely watched report on the employment situation last month.

Crude oil futures settled roughly flat on Thursday after two straight days of strong gains as traders reacted to inventory data and weighed energy demand prospects. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended down $0.02 at $68.81 a barrel.