Win Streak May End For South Korea Stock Market

The South Korea stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, collecting more than 25 points or 1 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,770-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on growing concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourse were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Thursday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and oil companies.

For the day, the index rose 3.08 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 2,771.93 after trading between 2,761.76 and 2,788.27.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial fell 0.25 percent, while KB Financial rallied 2.66 percent, Hana Financial climbed 1.25 percent, Samsung Electronics advanced 0.94 percent, LG Electronics shed 0.39 percent, SK Hynix spiked 2.78 percent, Naver jumped 1.69 percent, Samsung SDI added 0.53 percent, LG Chem skyrocketed 8.36 percent, S-Oil improved 0.57 percent, SK Innovation tanked 2.78 percent, POSCO sank 0.71 percent, Korea Shipbuilding retreated 1.05 percent, SK Telecom skidded 1.07 percent, KEPCO soared 3.38 percent, Hyundai Motor rose 0.27 percent, Kia Motors lost 0.75 percent and Lotte Chemical was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and the losses accelerated as the session progressed.

The Dow plummeted 526.47 points or 1.47 percent to finish at 35,241.59, while the NASDAQ tumbled 304.73 points or 2.10 percent to close at 14,185.64 and the S&P 500 sank 83.10 points or 1.81 percent to end at 4,504.08.

The sell-off on Wall Street came after the Labor Department said the annual rate of growth in consumer prices accelerated more than expected in January. The data raised concerns that the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates more aggressively to fight elevated inflation.

Selling pressure accelerated after comments from St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard, who indicated he supports raising interest rates by 50 basis points next month as part of a plan to raise rates by a full percentage point by the start of July.

Crude oil futures settled higher Thursday, gaining for a second straight day as falling crude inventories continued to support the commodity’s prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $0.22 or 0.25 percent at $89.88 a barrel.