KOSPI May Extend Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, sinking almost 100 points or 3 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 3,130-point plateau and it may tick lower again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak, with technology stocks expected to continue to weigh. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian markets are expected to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and industrials.

For the day, the index shed 21.47 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 3,130.09. Volume was 331.7 million shares worth 11.6 trillion won. There were 643 decliners and 241 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial sank 0.74 percent, while KB Financial perked 0.09 percent, Hana Financial collected 0.24 percent, Samsung Electronics improved 0.71 percent, Samsung SDI surrendered 2.48 percent, LG Electronics rose 0.26 percent, SK Hynix stumbled 2.85 percent, Naver tumbled 1.77 percent, LG Chem jumped 1.72 percent, Lotte Chemical gained 0.65 percent, SK Innovation tumbled 1.70 percent, POSCO Holdings dropped 0.99 percent, SK Telecom increased 0.36 percent, KEPCO gathered 0.40 percent, Hyundai Mobis dipped 0.17 percent, Hyundai Motor added 0.68 percent and Kia Motors accelerated 1.06 percent.

The lead from Wall Street continues to be soft as the major averages spent most of Wednesday in the red and finally finished mixed and little changed.

The Dow rose 16.04 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 44,938.31, while the NASDAQ sank 142.09 points or 0.67 percent to end at 21,172.86 and the S&P 500 fell 15.59 points or 0.24 percent to close at 6,395.78.

The early weakness on Wall Street reflected an extended sell-off by technology stocks following reports indicating the Trump administration is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers.

Traders may also have been reluctant to make significant moves ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's highly anticipated speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday.

Powell's remarks could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Fed's next monetary policy meeting in September. CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 82.9 percent chance the Fed will lower rates by a quarter point next month.

Crude oil prices moved higher on Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration said crude oil inventories in the U.S. decreased much more than expected last week. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was up $0.79 or 1.3 percent at $63.14 a barrel.