KOSPI Due For Profit Taking On Monday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has tracked higher in two straight sessions, accelerating more than 65 points or 2.6 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,600-point plateau although investors may cash in on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks and industrials.

For the day, the index climbed 28.39 points or 1.10 percent to finish at 2,601.28. Volume was 432.6 million shares worth 11.7 trillion won. There were 643 gainers and 237 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial jumped 3.68 percent, while KB Financial collected 2.14 percent, Hana Financial soared 4.44 percent, Samsung Electronics added 0.42 percent, Samsung SDI shed 0.51 percent, LG Electronics rallied 2.97 percent, SK Hynix perked 0.16 percent, Naver strengthened 1,77 percent, LG Chem spiked 3.62 percent, Lotte Chemical climbed 3.89 percent, S-Oil advanced 2.02 percent, SK Innovation retreated 1.60 percent, POSCO surged 5.61 percent, SK Telecom rose 0.40 percent, KEPCO was up 0.06 percent, Hyundai Mobis gained 1.28 percent, Hyundai Motor improved 0.79 percent and Kia Motors accelerated 1.14 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Friday and worsened as the day progressed, ending near session lows.

The Dow tumbled 288.86 points or 0.83 percent to finish at 34,618.86, while the NASDAQ plunged 217.76 points or 1.56 percent to close at 13,708.33 and the S&P 500 sank 54.78 points or 1.22 percent to end at 4,450.32.

For the week, the Dow rose 0.1 percent, the NASDAQ fell 0.4 percent and the S&P dipped 0.2 percent.

The pullback on Wall Street reflected profit taking ahead of this week's Federal Reserve meeting. The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged this week, but the latest batch of U.S. economic data reignited concerns about the possibility of future rate hikes.

The Labor Department said on Friday that import and export prices rose significantly more than expected, while the New York Fed noted a big jump in New York manufacturing activity this month - all of which bode ill for the outlook for interest rates.

Oil prices climbed higher on Friday, rising on optimism over the outlook for Chinese demand after reports showed Chinese refiners broke refining rate records in August. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended higher by $0.61 or 0.7 percent at $90.77 a barrel.