Continued Consolidation Called For KOSPI

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Wednesday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 30 points or 1.2 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,575-point plateau and it may take further damage on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautious as the debt ceiling situation looks to enter the home stretch. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the oil, chemical and technology stocks, while the financials and industrials were mixed.

For the day, the index lost 8.40 points or 0.32 percent to finish at 2,577.12 after trading between 2,575.98 and 2,596.31. Volume was 670.12 million shares worth 14.61 trillion won. There were 558 decliners and 303 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial shed 0.43 percent, while KB Financial sank 0.72 percent, Hana Financial collected 0.48 percent, Samsung Electronics retreated 1.24 percent, LG Electronics stumbled 1.68 percent, SK Hynix declined 1.54 percent, Naver skidded 0.99 percent, LG Chem slumped 1.28 percent, Lotte Chemical slid 0.42 percent, S-Oil tumbled 1.77 percent, SK Innovation surrendered 1.46 percent, POSCO dropped 0.83 percent, SK Telecom lost 0.60 percent, KEPCO surged 3.08 percent, Hyundai Mobis eased 0.22 percent, Hyundai Motor dipped 0.25 percent, Kia Motors added 0.35 percent and Samsung SDI was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened solidly lower on Wednesday, making back some of the ground as the day progressed but still ending firmly in the red.

The Dow dropped 134.51 points or 0.41 percent to finish at 32,908.27, while the NASDAQ shed 82.14 points or 0.63 percent to close at 12,935.29 and the S&P 500 slumped 25.69 points or 0.61 percent to end at 4,179.83.

The weakness on Wall Street came as traders kept a close eye on developments regarding the bill to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and avoid potentially disastrous default. The debt bill, which advanced out of the House Rules Committee on Tuesday, is set to be voted on in the House any time now.

In economic news, the Labor Department said that job openings rose to 10.1 million in April from a revised 9.7 million in March. Economists had expected job openings to fall to 9.4 million.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Wednesday as worries about fuel demand resurfaced, while a stronger dollar also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July slumped $1.37 or 2 percent at $68.09 a barrel.