KOSPI May Extend Monday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Monday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had climbed more than 35 points or 1.1 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 3,175-point plateau and it may tick lower again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky as investors wait for developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and flat and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the finance, technology, chemical and industrial sectors.

For the day, the index stumbled 48.38 points or 1.50 percent to finish at 3,177.28. Volume was 319.72 million shares worth 8.77 trillion won. There were 697 decliners and 198 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial surrendered 2.32 percent, while KB Financial plunged 5.30 percent, Hana Financial cratered 4.06 percent, Samsung Electronics stumbled 2.23 percent, Samsung SDI retreated 2.01 percent, LG Electronics fell 0.65 percent, SK Hynix tanked 3.25 percent, Naver added 0.67 percent, LG Chem declined 1.85 percent, Lotte Chemical dropped 0.95 percent, SK Innovation tumbled 3.30 percent, POSCO Holdings contracted 1.95 percent, SK Telecom shed 0.53 percent, KEPCO rallied 1.54 percent, Hyundai Mobis slumped 1.52 percent, Hyundai Motor lost 0.46 percent and Kia Motors weakened 1.45 percent.

The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages opened mixed but moved little, hugging the line all day and ending on opposite sides.

The Dow shed 34.30 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 44,911.82, while the NASDAQ rose 6.80 points or 0.03 percent to close at 21,629.77 and the S&P 500 eased 0.65 points or 0.01 percent to end at 6,449.15.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders kept an eye on the White House, where President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders.

The meetings at the White House come after Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday which failed to result in a concrete agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine.

On the U.S. economic front, the National Association of Home Builders reported a modest deterioration by U.S. homebuilder confidence in the month of August.

Crude oil priced climbed on Monday as investors focused their attention on the meeting between the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents amid rising geopolitical tensions surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was up $0.60 or 0.96 percent at $63.40 per barrel.