More Pain Anticipated For South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Wednesday wrote a finish to the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up almost 20 points or 0.6 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,280-point plateau and it's expected to open under pressure again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft amid concerns over the health of the world economy and the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the technology stocks and mixed performances from the financials and chemicals.

For the day, the index tumbled 52.34 points or 2.24 percent to finish at 2,280.45 after trading between 2,276.90 and 2,296.45. Volume was 396.9 million shares worth 7.5 trillion won. There were 643 decliners and 244 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial sank 0.83 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.28 percent, Hana Financial retreated 1.75 percent, Samsung Electronics tumbled 2.58 percent, Samsung SDI tanked 3.37 percent, LG Electronics gained 0.62 percent, SK Hynix dropped 1.30 percent, Naver lost 0.55 percent, LG Chem plunged 2.27 percent, Lotte Chemical soared 4.71 percent, SK Innovation surrendered 2.80 percent, POSCO jumped1.39 percent, SK Telecom climbed 1.18 percent, KEPCO surged 4.42 percent, Kia Motors fell 0.33 percent and S-Oil, Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Motor were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages shook off a slightly higher open on Wednesday, quickly heading south and finishing firmly in the red.

The Dow tumbled 365.85 points or 1.10 percent to finish at 32,875.71, while the NASDAQ slumped 139.94 points or 1.35 percent to close at 10,213.29 and the S&P 500 sank 46.03 points or 1.20 percent to end at 3,783.22.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street partly reflected ongoing concerns about the economic outlook and the possibility of higher interest rates leading to a recession.

However, with many traders away from their desks amid the holidays, the sell-off on Wall Street may have been exaggerated by below average volume.

In economic news, the National Association of Realtors reported a continued slump in U.S. pending home sales in November.

Crude oil prices dropped Wednesday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand amid fears of a global recession and rising COVID-19 cases in China. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended down $0.57 or 0.7 percent at $78.86 a barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will on Thursday release November numbers for industrial production later this morning. Industrial production is expected to fall 0.8 percent on month and 4.0 percent on year after slipping 3.5 percent on month and 1.1 percent on year in October.