South Korea Bourse May Extend Friday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Friday wrote a finish to the four-day winning streak in which it had rallied more than 130 points or 4.1 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 3,175-point plateau and it may see additional consolidation on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on lingering trade concerns. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished slightly lower on Friday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and industrial issues.

For the day, the index shed 7.46 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 3,175.77 after trading between 3,170.46 and 3,216.69. Volume was 458.7 million shares worth 12.44 trillion won. There were 476 gainers and 407 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial dropped 0.86 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.43 percent, Hana Financial climbed 1.08 percent, Samsung Electronics rallied 2.62 percent, Samsung SDI spiked 2.42 percent, LG Electronics dipped 0.13 percent, SK Hynix sank 0.84 percent, Naver tanked 2.50 percent, LG Chem perked 0.07 percent, Lotte Chemical surged 5.11 percent, SK Innovation plunged 4.05 percent, POSCO Holdings jumped 2.07 percent, SK Telecom improved 0.72 percent, KEPCO shed 0.67 percent, Hyundai Mobis stumbled 2.23 percent, Kia Motors gained 0.70 percent and Hyundai Motor was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Friday and remained under water for almost the entire session.

The Dow dropped 279.09 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 44,371.51, while the NASDAQ sank 45.17 points or 0.22 percent to close at 20,585.53 and the S&P 500 lost 20.71 points or 0.33 percent to end at 6,259.75.

The weakness on Wall Street came amid renewed concerns about President Donald Trump's escalating trade battles.

Overall trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, amidst a lack of major economic data and ahead of earnings season this coming week.

Crude oil rose sharply on Friday after the International Energy Agency upwardly revised its oil supply forecast and also buoyed by lingering geopolitical risks in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery closed up $1.88 to settle at $68.45 per barrel.