South Korea Bourse May Reverse Thursday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Thursday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 60 points or 2.4 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,620-point plateau although it's expected to bounce higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing inflation and tariff concerns. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

For the day, the index slumped 19.21 points or 0.73 percent to finish at 2,621.36 after trading between 2,618.08 and 2,643.83. Volume was 333.4 million shares worth 7.13 trillion won. There were 592 decliners and 296 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial eased 0.19 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.21 percent, Hana Financial rose 0.31 percent, Samsung Electronics dipped 0.17 percent, Samsung SDI retreated 1.91 percent, LG Electronics slumped 1.24 percent, SK Hynix stumbled 2.67 percent, Naver skidded 1.05 percent, LG Chem shed 0.49 percent, Lotte Chemical sank 0.84 percent, SK Innovation surrendered 1.56 percent, POSCO Holdings dropped 0.79 percent, SK Telecom fell 0.39 percent , KEPCO jumped 1.53 percent, Hyundai Mobis weakened 1.16 percent, Hyundai Motor tumbled 2.13 percent and Kia Motors declined 1.30 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is mostly positive as the major averages opened in the red on Thursday but rallied to finish mixed.

The Dow jumped 271.69 points or 0.65 percent to finish at 42,322.75, while the NASDAQ dipped 34.49 points or 0.18 percent to close at 19,112.32 and the S&P 500 added 24.35 points or 0.41 percent to end at 5,916.93.

The choppy trading on day came as traders digested an avalanche of U.S. economic data, including a Labor Department report showing producer prices unexpectedly decreased in the month of April.

Another report from the Commerce Department showed a slight increase by U.S. retail sales in April. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve said industrial production in the U.S. was unchanged in the month of April.

Crude oil futures showed a substantial move to the downside on Thursday on reports the U.S. is very close to reaching a nuclear deal with Iran. Crude for June delivery plunged $1.53 or 2.4 percent to $61.62 a barrel.