South Korea Stock Market May Open Under Pressure On Tuesday

The South Korea stock market on Monday snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had spiked more than 130 points or 5.2 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,745-point plateau and it may take further damage on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on sliding oil prices and profit taking among the technology stocks. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished slightly lower on Monday as losses from the automobile and technology stocks were mitigated by support from the financial sector.

For the day, the index slipped 5.20 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 2,745.06 after trading between 2,718.94 and 2,750.70. Volume was 410 million shares worth 11.1 trillion won. There were 467 gainers and 385 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.63 percent, while KB Financial added 0.49 percent, Hana Financial gained 0.54 percent, Samsung Electronics retreated 1.35 percent, LG Electronics slumped 2.34 percent, SK Hynix skidded 1.20 percent, Naver dipped 0.15 percent, Samsung SDI tanked 3.24 percent, LG Chem plummeted 5.75 percent, Lotte Chemical jumped 1.75 percent, SK Innovation shed 0.66 percent, SK Telecom surrendered 1.77 percent, KEPCO rallied 2.34 percent, Hyundai Motor tumbled 1.84 percent, Kia Motors plunged 3.10 percent and POSCO was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up negative as the markets opened mixed on Monday, saw wild swings on either side of the unchanged line before finally ending mostly lower.

The Dow rose 1.39 points or 0.00 percent to finish at 35,091.13, while the NASDAQ sank 82.34 points or 0.58 percent to close at 14,015.67 and the S&P 500 slipped 16.66 points or 0.37 percent to end at 4,483.87.

Shares of Facebook parent Meta Platforms fell more than 5 percent on reports that a company has threatened to remove the social media platform from the European Union. Microsoft, Merck, Walmart and Salesforce.com also ended notably lower.

Boeing rallied more than 2.5 percent, while Tyson Foods, Chevron, American Express, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Coca-Cola and Caterpillar also closed on a positive note.

Crude oil futures retreated Monday amid signs that nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran are moving in a positive way, so there could be a removal of U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil sales. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended lower by $0.99 or 1.1 percent at $91.32 a barrel.