KOSPI May Extend Friday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Friday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had risen more than 20 points or 0.8 percent. The KOSPI now sits just shy of the 2,580-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is uninspired on waning optimism over trade agreements that might end U.S. tariffs. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished slightly lower on Friday following losses from the financials and chemicals and mixed performances from the technology and industrial sectors.

For the day, the index dipped 2.21 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 2,577.27 after trading between 2,571.20 and 2,589.58. Volume was 478.2 million shares worth 7.73 trillion won. There were 535 decliners and 353 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial fell 0.39 percent, while KB Financial stumbled 2.65 percent, Hana Financial retreated 1.39 percent, Samsung Electronics added 0.37 percent, Samsung SDI dropped 1.05 percent, LG Electronics gained 0.42 percent, SK Hynix eased 0.11 percent, Naver climbed 1.22 percent, LG Chem tumbled 1.67 percent, Lotte Chemical plummeted 5.50 percent, SK Innovation surrendered 2.89 percent, POSCO slumped 1.15 percent, SK Telecom declined 1.32 percent, KEPCO rallied 2.08 percent, Hyundai Mobis weakened 1.35 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 1.50 percent and Kia Motors jumped 1.71 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened higher on Friday but quickly headed south to finish mostly lower.

The Dow slumped 119.07 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 41,249.38, while the NASDAQ rose 0.78 points or 0.00 percent to close at 17,928.92 and the S&P 500 slipped 4.03 points or 0.07 percent to end at 5,659.91.

For the week, the S&P 500 shed 0.5 percent, the NASDAQ fell 0.3 percent and the Dow eased 0.2 percent.

The early strength on Wall Street came amid optimism about a potential U.S.-China trade deal ahead of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's talks with Chinese officials in Switzerland over the weekend.

However, President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that a higher "80% Tariff on China seems right," partly offsetting the positive sentiment.

Crude oil futures moved sharply higher on Friday, extending gains in the previous session amid optimism about a potential U.S.-China trade deal. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery crude for June delivery jumped $1.11 or 1.9 percent to $61.02 a barrel.