Soft Start Anticipated For South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Thursday snapped the seven-day winning streak in which it had rallied almost 150 points or 5.7 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,650-point plateau and it's expected to open under pressure again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with retail and technology stocks likely to fall under pressure. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses among the automobile producers, gains from the chemicals and mixed performances from the financial and technology stocks.

For the day, the index shed 17.46 points or 0.65 percent to finish at 2,654.06 after trading between 2,645.53 and 2,667.59. Volume was 517.33 million shares worth 14.06 trillion won. There were 451 gainers and 414 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial tanked 2.37 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.61 percent, Hana Financial added 0.64 percent, Samsung Electronics shed 0.51 percent, Samsung SDI gained 0.44 percent, LG Electronics climbed 1.23 percent, SK Hynix stumbled 2.97 percent, Naver fell 0.23 percent, LG Chem rallied 1.53 percent, Lotte Chemical spiked 2.32 percent, SK Innovation improved 1.08 percent, POSCO Holdings soared 3.87 percent, SK Telecom accelerated 2.43 percent, KEPCO surged 3.06 percent, Hyundai Motor lost 0.49 percent, Kia Motors sank 0.53 percent and Hyundai Mobis was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and remained in the red throughout the session.

The Dow plummeted 450,94 points or 1.01 percent to finish at 44,176.65, while the NASDAQ stumbled 93.89 points or 0.47 percent to close at 19,962.36 and the S&P 500 sank 26.63 points or 0.43 percent to end at 6,117.52.

The early sell-off on Wall Street came amid a slump by shares of Walmart (WMT), which came under pressure after the company reported better than fiscal fourth quarter earnings but provided disappointing guidance for the current year.

Traders may also have been looking to cash in on the recent upticks by stocks, which lifted the S&P 500 to record highs despite ongoing tariff concerns and indications the Federal Reserve is likely to keep interest rates on hold for some time.

On the economic front, the Labor Department noted a modest increase by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity continued to expand in February, although the index of activity in the sector pulled back sharply.

Oil futures settled higher on Thursday, as supply disruptions in Russia and drop in gasoline and distillate fuel stocks supported oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures closed higher by $32 or 0.44 percent at $72.57 a barrel.