South Korea Bourse Tipped To Hand Back Thursday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Thursday ended the seven-day losing streak in which it had plummeted more than 220 points or 8.4 percent to a 19-month closing low. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,450-point plateau although it figures to turn emphatically lower again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests further consolidation on worldwide recession fears. The European and U.S. markets finished with deep losses and the Asian bourse are also tipped to open in the red.

The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Thursday as gains from the technology and chemical companies were offset by weakness from the oil and financial shares.

For the day, the index rose 4.03 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 2,451.41 after trading between 2,447.33 and 2,500.36. Volume was 567.50 million shares worth 9.34 trillion won. There were 435 decliners and 426 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial fell 0.49 percent, while KB Financial tanked 2.22 percent, Hana Financial sank 0.79 percent, Samsung Electronics added 0.33 percent, Samsung SDI soared 3.98 percent, LG Electronics improved 1.29 percent, SK Hynix lost 0.51 percent, Naver tumbled 1.84 percent, LG Chem climbed 1.29 percent, Lotte Chemical surged 4.10 percent, S-Oil plunged 3.38 percent, SK Innovation plummeted 3.81 percent, POSCO rallied 2.29 percent, SK Telecom declined 1.74 percent, KEPCO spiked 2.24 percent, Hyundai Motor shed 0.57 percent and Kia Motors slumped 1.15 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened sharply lower on Thursday and remained deep in the red throughout the day, finishing near session lows.

The Dow plummeted 741.46 points or 2.42 percent to finish at 29,927.07, while the NASDAQ plunged 453.06 points or 4.08 percent to close at 10,646.10 and the S&P 500 dropped 123.22 points or 3.25 percent to end at 3,666.77.

The sell-off on Wall Street reflected concerns aggressive monetary policy action by central banks around the world may trigger a global recession.

Following the Federal Reserve's widely expected 75 basis point interest rate hike on Wednesday, central banks in Switzerland, England and Taiwan, among others, also decided to hike rates.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits last week. Also, the Commerce Department said new residential construction in the U.S. plunged more than expected May.

Oil futures settled higher on Thursday after prices rebounded as tight supply levels outweighed concerns about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $2.27 or 2 percent at $117.58 a barrel.