Soft Start Anticipated For South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last five trading days since the end of the four-day winning streak in which it had soared almost 100 points or 4 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,475-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with technology, semiconductor and oil stocks expected to weigh. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished slightly lower on Wednesday following losses from the chemical companies and automobile producers, while the financials and technology stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index eased 2.88 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 2,477.45 after trading between 2,446.79 and 2,487.00. Volume was 645.72 million shares worth 9.67 trillion won. There were 444 gainers and 419 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial lost 0.41 percent, while KB Financial collected 1.01 percent, Hana Financial jumped 1.95 percent, Samsung Electronics gained 0.48 percent, LG Electronics weakened 1.04 percent, SK Hynix eased 0.11 percent, Naver declined 1.30 percent, LG Chem shed 0.42 percent, Lotte Chemical plummeted 4.72 percent, S-Oil improved 1.49 percent, SK Innovation dipped 0.28 percent, POSCO stumbled 1.20 percent, SK Telecom slumped 1.10 percent, KEPCO strengthened 1.55 percent, Hyundai Mobis tumbled 2.04 percent, Hyundai Motor retreated 1.43 percent and Kia Motors skidded 1.02 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday. The NASDAQ and the S&P 500 stayed in the red all day, while the Dow bounced back and forth across the unchanged line but also finished lower.

The Dow eased 39.09 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 33,553.83, while the NASDAQ tumbled 174.75 points or 1.54 percent to close at 11,183.66 and the S&P 500 sank 32.94 points or 0.83 percent to end at 3,958.79.

The weakness on Wall Street came as treasuries moved sharply higher, extending the upward move in the previous session and affecting technology stocks in particular.

In economic news, the Commerce Department reported a significant increase in U.S. retail sales in October. Also, the Federal Reserve noted an unexpected decline in U.S. industrial production last month. In addition, the National Association of Home Builders reported a continued decrease in U.S. homebuilder confidence in November.

Crude oil prices slipped Wednesday amid concerns about the outlook for demand and the resumption of Russian oil shipments to Hungary. Oil prices fell despite data showing a larger-than-expected drop in crude inventories in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended lower by $1.33 or 1.5 percent at $85.59 a barrel.