South Korea Bourse May Extend Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, slipping almost 15 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,590-point plateau and it may tick lower again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild consolidation following uninspired data from the United States. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Friday as losses from the oil and chemical companies were offset by support from the financials and automobile producers, while the technology stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index slipped 10.30 points or 0.40 percent to finish at 2,591.26. Volume was 664.8 million shares worth 10.3 trillion won. There were 562 gainers and 324 decliners.

Among the actives, KB Financial rose 0.39 percent, while Hana Financial collected 0.79 percent, Samsung Electronics sank 0.74 percent, Samsung SDI and Kia Motors both jumped 1.77 percent, LG Electronics rallied 1.86 percent, SK Hynix tanked 2.70 percent, Naver retreated 1.33 percent, LG Chem tumbled 1.89 percent, Lotte Chemical dropped 0.92 percent, S-Oil declined 1.15 percent, POSCO plunged 3.61 percent, SK Telecom added 0.43 percent, KEPCO fell 0.37 percent, Hyundai Mobis spiked 1.97 percent, Hyundai Motor climbed 1.11 percent and Shinhan Financial and SK Innovation were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up mixed as the major averages opened lower on Friday and wound up on opposite sides of the unchanged line after a day of volatility.

The Dow gained 105.30 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 35,281.40, while the NASDAQ slumped 93.15 points or 0.68 percent to close at 13,644.85 and the S&P 500 fell 4.78 points or 0.11 percent to end at 4,464.05. For the week, the Dow added 0.6 percent, the NASDAQ tumbled 1.9 percent and the S&P eased 0.3 percent.

The mixed performance on Wall Street came following the release of a Labor Department report showing producer prices climbed slightly more than expected in July.

While the larger than increase by the headline index led to renewed interest rate concerns among some investors, analysts noted the more important index excluding food, energy, and trade services rose in line with estimates.

A separate report released by the University of Michigan showed a slight pullback in consumer sentiment in August.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Friday after a report from the International Energy Agency forecast strong demand for oil and tightening supplies in the market. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended higher by $0.37 at $83.19 a barrel.