(RTTNews) – Ahead of Thursday’s Labor Day holiday, the South Korea stock market had ended the three-day winning streak in which it had climbed more than 40 points or 1.7 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,555-point plateau although it’s expected to bounce higher again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with support expected from the oil and technology companies in particular. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are expected to follow that lead.
The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Wednesday as losses from the technology stocks and industrials were mitigated by support from the financial sector.
For the day, the index shed 8.81 points or 0.34 percent to finish at 2,556.61 after trading between 2,544.46 and 2,570.83. Volume was 480 million shares worth 8.33 trillion won. There were 547 decliners and 345 gainers.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial jumped 1.98 percent, while KB Financial spiked 2.73 percent, Hana Financial collected 2.54 percent, Samsung Electronics shed 0.54 percent, Samsung SDI tanked 4.14 percent, LG Electronics lost 0.56 percent, SK Hynix tumbled 1.83 percent, Naver rallied 2.04 percent, LG Chem plunged 4.56 percent, Lotte Chemical surrendered 2.74 percent, SK Innovation stumbled 2.48 percent, POSCO sank 0.76 percent, SK Telecom jumped 1.69 percent, KEPCO dipped 0.19 percent, Hyundai Mobis soared 4.29 percent, Hyundai Motor declined 1.14 percent and Kia Motors fell 0.22 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and remained in the green throughout the session, although they came well off the day’s highs.
The Dow improved 83.60 points or 0.21 percent to finish at 40,752.96, while the NASDAQ rallied 264.40 points or 1.52 percent to close at 17,710.74 and the S&P 500 added 35.08 points or 0.63 percent to end at 5,604.14.
The early rally on Wall Street came in reaction to upbeat earnings news from software giant Microsoft (MSFT) and Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META), both of which exceeded expectations.
Buying interest waned as the day progressed, however, as traders digested some disappointing economic data, including a Labor Department report showing first-time claims for jobless benefits rose much more than expected last week.
Crude oil saw considerable volatility Thursday but moved sharply higher after President Donald Trump threatened to impose sanctions on any country that purchases Iranian oil. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery jumped $1.03 or 1.8 percent to $59.24 a barrel.
Closer to home, South Korea will provide April numbers for consumer prices later this morning, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 0.1 percent on month and 2.1 percent on year. That follows the 0.2 percent monthly increase and the 2.1 percent annual increase in March.
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