South Korea Shares May Return To The Downside

Ahead of the long break for Chuseok Thanksgiving Day, the South Korea stock market had moved higher in back-to-back sessions, improving more than 60 points or 2.4 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,575-point plateau although it may open in the red on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative after the Federal Reserve announced its well-telegraphed rate cut. The European and U.S. markets saw mild losses and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.

The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Friday as gains from the financials and industrials were capped by weakness from the technology stocks, while the oil and chemical companies were mixed.

For the day, the index rose 3.32 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 2,575.41 after trading between 2,562.91 and 2,584.11. Volume was 351.2 million shares worth 8.25 trillion won. There were 598 gainers and 271 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial spiked 3.71 percent, while KB Financial surged 4.74 percent, Hana Financial soared 4.12 percent, Samsung Electronics plunged 2.87 percent, Samsung SDI perked 0.27 percent, LG Electronics climbed 1.95 percent, SK Hynix plummeted 3.55 percent, Naver was up 0.06 percent, LG Chem rose 0.31 percent, Lotte Chemical dipped 0.12 percent, S-Oil improved 1.36 percent, SK Innovation sank 0.63 percent, POSCO rallied 3.21 percent, KEPCO strengthened 1.37 percent, Hyundai Mobis skyrocketed 4.68 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 2.16 percent, Kia Motors jumped 1.41 percent and SK Telecom was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages hugged the line until the Fed’s monetary policy announcement; after an initial spike, they turned lower and ended in the red.

The Dow sank 103.08 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 41,503.10, while the NASDAQ shed 54.76 points or 0.31 percent to close at 17,573.30 and the S&P 500 fell 16.32 points or 0.29 percent to end at 5,618.26.

The late-day volatility on Wall Street came after the Fed decided to lower interest rates for the first time in over four years, aggressively slashing rates by half a percentage point.

The economic projections provided by Fed officials at the meeting suggested the central bank will cut rates by another 50 basis points by the end of the year.

Fed officials also expect to continue lowering rates next year, with the projections indicating rates will be lower by another full percentage point by the end of 2025.

Thanks to profit taking, crude oil futures settled lower on Wednesday, despite a drop in U.S. crude inventories and the rate cut. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for October ended down $0.28 or 0.39 percent at $70.91 a barrel.

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