The South Korea stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 100 points or 3.1 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 3,065-point plateau although it’s expected to turn lower again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative thanks to a spike in bond yields and plummeting oil prices. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the automobile producers and mixed performances from the financials, technology shares and oil and chemical stocks.
For the day, the index added 18.51 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 3,066.01 after trading between 3,054.93 and 3,090.19. Volume was 1.2 billion shares worth 14.8 trillion won. There were 503 gainers and 329 decliners.
Among the actives, KB Financial sank 0.79 percent, while Hana Financial collected 0.36 percent, Samsung Electronics added 0.73 percent, LG Electronics retreated 1.58 percent, SK Hynix climbed 1.43 percent, Naver spiked 5.22 percent, LG Chem rose 0.47 percent, Lotte Chemical lost 0.66 percent, S-Oil was up 0.12 percent, SK Innovation shed 0.69 percent, POSCO perked 0.17 percent, SK Telecom eased 0.19 percent, KEPCO tanked 2.03 percent, Hyundai Motor advanced 0.86 percent, Kia Motors surged 3.66 percent and Shinhan Financial was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks opened mixed on Thursday but turned firmly negative as the day progressed – particularly among technology stocks.
The Dow tumbled 153.07 points or 0.46 percent to finish at 32,862.30, while the NASDAQ plummeted 409.03 points or 3.02 percent to end at 13,116.17 and the S&P 500 sank 58.66 points or 1.48 percent to close at 3,915.46.
The weakness on Wall Street came as another spike in treasury yields renewed concerns about the outlook for high-growth companies. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note jumped above 1.7 percent to reach its highest levels since January of 2020, while the thirty-year bond yield shot up to its highest levels since last summer.
Yields skyrocketed despite assurances by the Federal Reserve that interest rates will remain at near-zero levels through 2023. Analysts attributed the jump in yields to concerns that the Fed’s apparent willingness to let inflation accelerate more than normal will reduce the appeal of bonds.
In economic news, the Labor Department noted an unexpected increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week thanks to the winter storm in Texas. Also, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve said its reading on regional manufacturing spiked to a 50-year high in March.
Crude oil prices declined sharply on Thursday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to uncertainty about the pace of the economic recovery. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended down $4.60 or 7.1 percent at $60.00 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Renewed Consolidation Likely For South Korea Shares
2021-03-18 23:00:17
