South Korea Bourse May Hand Back Thursday’s Gains

The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Thursday, one day after halting the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up more than 10 points or 0.4 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,535-point plateau although it figures to turn lower again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on apprehension over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the technology stocks, industrials and chemical companies, while the financials were mixed.

For the day, the index improved 32.18 points or 1.28 percent to finish at 2,537.68. Volume was 433.34 million shares worth 9.94 trillion won. There were 538 gainers and 321 decliners.

Among the actives, KB Financial collected 1.14 percent, while Hana Financial shed 0.64 percent, Samsung Electronics jumped 1.64 percent, Samsung SDI strengthened 1.37 percent, LG Electronics gained 0.51 percent, SK Hynix rallied 4.22 percent, Naver skyrocketed 6.26 percent, LG Chem perked 0.18 percent, Lotte Chemical rose 0.39 percent, S-Oil tanked 2.61 percent, SK Innovation added 0.40 percent, POSCO surged 5.08 percent, SK Telecom dipped 0.21 percent, KEPCO lost 0.50 percent, Hyundai Mobis increased 0.22 percent, Hyundai Motor lost 0.59 percent, Kia Motors was up 0.13 percent and Shinhan Financial was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened higher on Thursday but quickly turned lower and finished deep under water.

The Dow plunged 373.56 points or 1.08 percent to finish at 34,099.42, while the NASDAQ tumbled 257.06 points or 1.87 percent to close at 13,463.97 and the S&P 500 sank 59.70 points or 1.35 percent to end at 4,376.31.

The initial strength on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to Q2 results from chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA), which reported strong earnings and guidance after markets close on Wednesday.

Buying interest waned shortly after the start of trading, however, with concerns about the outlook for interest rates continuing to weigh on the markets ahead of the economic symposium later today in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods tumbled more than expected in July. Also, the Labor Department noted a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week.

Crude oil futures settled higher Thursday on expectations that Saudi Arabia will extend its production cut into the next month. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended higher by $0.16 or 0.2 percent at $79.05 a barrel.