South Korea Shares Tipped To Bounce Higher Again On Monday

The South Korea stock market on Friday halted the six-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 80 points or 2.7 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 3,130-point plateau although it’s expected to rebound on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with support from technology stocks offset by weakness from crude oil prices. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished barely lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares and industrial issues, while the technology stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index eased 1.38 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 3,131.88 after trading between 3,125.24 and 3,156.04. Volume was 1.8 billion shares worth 14.6 trillion won. There were 537 gainers and 305 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial shed 0.67 percent, while KB Financial fell 0.38 percent, Hana Financial dropped 0.96 percent, Samsung Electronics skidded 1.30 percent, LG Electronics jumped 1.28 percent, SK Hynix tanked 2.78 percent, Naver gained 0.52 percent, Samsung SDI advanced 0.91 percent, LG Chem rose 0.25 percent, Lotte Chemical lost 1.18 percent, S-Oil surrendered 1.00 percent, SK Innovation tanked 2.26 percent, POSCO dropped 1.06 percent, SK Telecom sank 1.25 percent, Hyundai Motor retreated 1.30 percent, Kia Motors plunged 2.87 percent and KEPCO was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks moved mostly higher on Friday, sending the Dow and the S&P 500 to fresh record closing highs.

The Dow climbed 297.03 points or 0.89 percent to finish at 33,800.60, while the NASDAQ added 70.88 points or 0.51 percent to end at 13,900.19 and the S&P gained 31.63 points or 0.77 percent to close at 4,128.80. For the week, the Dow rose 2 percent, the NASDAQ spiked 3.1 percent and the S&P jumped 2.7 percent.

The strength on Wall Street reflected continued optimism about a swift recovery by the U.S. economy. Traders are hopeful the economy may fully reopen soon after the Centers for Disease Control reported nearly 20 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Repeated assurances the Federal Reserve will maintain its ultra-easy monetary policy for the foreseeable future may also have generated continued buying interest.

In economic news, the Labor Department said U.S. producer prices jumped more than expected in March.

Crude oil prices drifted lower Friday as worries about the outlook for energy demand amid a continued surge in coronavirus cases weighed on the commodity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended lower by $0.28 or 0.5 percent at $59.32 a barrel.

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