Profit Taking Expected For South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has climbed higher in three straight sessions, gathering more than 50 points or 2.3 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,480-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 mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financials and automobile producers, weakness from the oil and chemical companies and a mixed picture from the technology stocks.

For the day, the index gained 11.52 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 2,480.40. Volume was 488 million shares worth 7.9 trillion won. There were 463 gainers and 403 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial advanced 0.99 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.89 percent, Hana Financial spiked 1.99 percent, Samsung Electronics added 0.47 percent, LG Electronics eased 0.10 percent, SK Hynix retreated 1.28 percent, Naver skyrocketed 5.67 percent, LG Chem shed 0.30 percent, Lotte Chemical plunged 2.13 percent, S-Oil declined 1.59 percent, SK Innovation sank 0.58 percent, POSCO eased 0.16 percent, SK Telecom perked 0.11 percent, KEPCO lost 0.67 percent, Hyundai Mobis climbed 1.21 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 1.71 percent and Kia Motors soared 2.15 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Friday, rallied midday but sank into the red by the close.

The Dow tumbled 127.89 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 33,926.01, while the NASDAQ plunged 193.84 points or 1.59 percent to close at 12,006.96 and the S&P 500 sank 43.28 points or 1.04 percent to end at 4,136.48.

For the week, the NASDAQ surged 3.3 percent, the S&P 500 climbed 1.6 percent and the Dow dipped 0.2 percent.

The weakness on Wall Street reflected renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates following the release of much stronger than expected jobs data.

While the report points to continued strength in the labor market, the data has led to concerns the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates higher than currently anticipated.

Crude oil prices fell sharply Friday amid concerns about the outlook for fuel demand, with investors weighing the prospects of a recession - while a stronger dollar also weighed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended lower by $2.49 or 3.3 percent at $73.39 a barrel.