South Korea Stock Market Poised To Extend Friday’s Losses

The South Korea stock market headed south again on Friday, one day after ending the four-day losing streak in which it had plunged almost 250 points or 5.8 percent. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 2,420-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were own and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished slightly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares and chemicals, while the technology and automobile sectors were mixed.

For the day, the index eased 2.00 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 2,416.86 after trading between 2,390.56 and 2,433.18. Volume was 607 million shares worth 11.7 trillion won. There were 505 gainers and 390 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial surrendered 4.96 percent, while KB Financial fell 0.33 percent, Hana Financial skidded 1.17 percent, Samsung Electronics skyrocketed 7.21 percent, Samsung SDI plummeted 6.81 percent, LG Electronics retreated 1.34 percent, SK Hynix spiked 3.01 percent, Naver advanced 0.80 percent, LG Chem tanked 3.30 percent, Lotte Chemical crashed 8.14 percent, SK Innovation tumbled 6.43 percent, POSCO plunged 10.48 percent, SK Telecom sank 0.89 percent, KEPCO declined 2.16 percent, Hyundai Mobis stumbled 1.57 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 2.23 percent and Kia Motors dropped 0.97 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower on Friday and only weakened further as the day progressed.

The Dow plunged 305.87 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 43,444.99, while the NASDAQ plummeted 427.53 points or 2.24 percent to close at 18,680.12 and the S&P 500 dropped 78.55 points or 1.32 percent to end at 5,870.62. For the week, the NASDAQ shed 3.2 percent, the S&P sank 2.1 percent and the Dow fell 1.2 percent.

The sell-off on Wall Street came amid concerns about the outlook for interest rates following Federal Reserve Chair Powell’s recent remarks suggesting the central bank doesn’t need to hurry to lower rates. Citing the strength of the U.S. economy, Powell said the Fed can take a careful approach to future monetary policy decisions.

Potentially adding to concerns economic strength will lead the Fed to hold off on future rate cuts, the Commerce Department released a report showing retail sales increased by slightly more than expected in October.

Oil futures plummeted Friday on concerns about the outlook for demand, recent data showing an increase in U.S. crude inventories and a stronger dollar. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December sank $1.68 or 2.45 percent at $67.02 a barrel; they shed 5 percent in the week.

Market Analysis