South Korea Shares May Be Stuck In Neutral On Friday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher five straight sessions, accelerating more than 120 points or 4.8 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,520-point plateau although it's due for profit taking on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky as the U.S. markets were shuttered on Thursday - while the European markets were roughly flat with an upside bias, and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished barely higher on Thursday as gains from the financials were capped by weakness from the technology and chemical companies.

For the day, the index perked 0.85 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 2,521.90 after trading between 2,515.82 and 2,535.87. Volume was 399.52 million shares worth 11.38 trillion won. There were 519 decliners and 362 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.71 percent, while KB Financial strengthened 1.29 percent, Hana Financial rallied 1.21 percent, Samsung Electronics stumbled 2.09 percent, Samsung SDI plunged 4.21 percent, LG Electronics skidded 1.15 percent, SK Hynix surged 5.29 percent, Naver surrendered 2.17 percent, LG Chem tanked 2.92 percent, Lotte Chemical eased 0.17 percent, SK Innovation spiked 2.99 percent, POSCO Holdings dropped 0.95 percent, SK Telecom retreated 1.43 percent, KEPCO sank 0.73 percent, Hyundai Mobis advanced 0.80 percent, Hyundai Motor fell 0.23 percent and Kia Motors accelerated 2.28 percent.

There is no lead from Wall Street as the U.S. financial markets were closed on Thursday in honor of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who died in late December at age 100.

Investors are looking ahead to the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report later today, which will potentially provide additional clarity about the strength of the labor market.

Oil prices moved higher Thursday amid optimism about the outlook for global oil demand, and potential supply shortage due to the sanctions on Iranian and Russian crude exports. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February settled higher by $0.60 or 0.82 percent at $73.92 a barrel.