No Relief Yet For South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved lower in four straight sessions, slipping almost 80 points or 3.2 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,525-point plateau and it may tick lower again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, technology companies, chemicals and other industrials.

For the day, the index tumbled 45.23 points or 1.76 percent to finish at 2,525.64. Volume was 670.76 million shares worth 11.8 trillion won. There were 776 decliners and 135 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial stumbled 1.14 percent, while KB Financial slumped 1.16 percent, Hana Financial weakened 1.17 percent, Samsung Electronics shed 0.45 percent, Samsung SDI declined 1.48 percent, LG Electronics lost 1.87 percent, SK Hynix advanced 0.78 percent, Naver gained 0.68 percent, LG Chem tanked 2.18 percent, Lotte Chemical surrendered 2.92 percent, S-Oil plunged 4.03 percent, SK Innovation skidded 2.61 percent, POSCO plummeted 5.37 percent, SK Telecom rose 0.21 percent, KEPCO tumble 1.61 percent, Hyundai Mobis sank 1.72 percent, Hyundai Motor retreated 1.59 percent and Kia Motors dropped 0.89 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened slightly higher on Wednesday but quickly turned lower and ended solidly in the red.

The Dow dropped 180.65 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 34,765.74, while the NASDAQ tumbled 156.42 points or 1.15 percent to close at 13,474.63 and the S&P 500 sank 33.53 points or 076 percent to end at 4,404.33.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street followed the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting, which said "most of the central bank officials continued to see significant upside risks to inflation, which could require further tightening of monetary policy."

In economic news, U.S. industrial and manufacturing production both eased in July, while building permits and housing starts saw mild upside.

Crude oil prices slipped Wednesday amid worries about the outlook for energy demand from China and uncertainty over interest rates. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September shed $1.61 or 2 percent at $79.38 a barrel.