Tech Shares May Weigh On South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has ticked higher in two straight sessions, collecting more than a dozen points or 0.5 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,665-point plateau and it may spin its wheel on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on optimism over earnings, although profit taking may take hold later in the day. The European and U.S. markets saw mostly modest gains and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Friday following gains from the financials. weakness from the chemicals and a mixed picture from the technology stocks.

For the day, the index rose 3.43 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 2,667.70.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial jumped 1.64 percent, while KB Financial rallied 1.39 percent, Hana Financial soared 3.33 percent, Samsung Electronics shed 0.27 percent, Samsung SDI retreated 1.65 percent, LG Electronics was up 0.10 percent, Naver sank 0.74 percent, SK Hynix surged 3.13 percent, LG Chem tumbled 1.87 percent, Lotte Chemical slumped 0.84 percent, S-Oil improved 1.08 percent, SK Innovation fell 0.24 percent, POSCO dipped 0.23 percent, SK Telecom perked 0.19 percent, KEPCO spiked 2.17 percent, Hyundai Mobis climbed 1.02 percent, Hyundai Motor rose 0.21 percent and Kia Corporation dropped 0.75 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened solidly higher on Friday but faded as the day progressed, with the NASDAQ finishing in the red.

The Dow added 62.43 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 39,131.53, while the NASDAQ sank 44.78 points or 0.28 percent to close at 15,996.82 and the S&P 500 rose 1.77 points or 0.03 percent to end at 5,088.80.

For the holiday-shortened week, the S&P 500 surged 1.7 percent, the NASDAQ jumped 1.4 percent and the Dow advanced 1.3 percent.

The early upward move reflected an extension of the rally seen in during Thursday's session, which came on the heels of upbeat earnings news from AI darling Nvidia (NVDA).

Buying interest waned shortly after the start of trading, however, as traders took a breather following Thursday's surge.

Crude oil futures settled sharply lower on Friday as concerns about the outlook for demand and the recent data showing a jump in U.S. crude inventories weighed on prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April dropped $2.12 or 2.65 percent at $76.49 a barrel.