South Korea Stock Market Due For Support On Monday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, dropping almost 75 points or 2.9 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,540-point plateau although it may find traction on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on solid earnings news and renewed optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower again on Friday following mixed performances from the technology, chemical and automobile companies, while the financials were up on bargain hunting.

For the day, the index shed 13.79 points or 0.54 percent to finish at 2,542.36 after trading between 2,536.84 and 2,559.30. Volume was 315.1 million shares worth 7.8 trillion won. There were 599 decliners and 288 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial surged 5.26 percent, while KB Financial jumped 1.66 percent, Hana Financial collected 2.00 percent, Samsung Electronics stumbled 1.52 percent, Samsung SDI improved 1.38 percent, LG Electronics climbed 1.45 percent, SK Hynix tanked 2.20 percent, Naver eased 0.18 percent, LG Chem strengthened 1.44 percent, Lotte Chemical tumbled 2.41 percent, SK Innovation rallied 3.75 percent, POSCO added 0.45 percent, SK Telecom gained 0.53 percent, KEPCO dipped 0.22 percent, Hyundai Mobis shed 0.40 percent, Hyundai Motor sank 0.70 percent and Kia Motors accelerated 2.61 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Friday and remained in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow jumped 288.73 points or 0.69 percent to finish at 42,052.19, while the NASDAQ added 144.77 points of 0.80 percent to end at 18,239.92 and the S&P 500 rose 23.35 points or 0.41 percent to close at 5,728.80.

For the week, the Dow eased 0.2 percent, the S&P slumped 1.4 percent and the NASDAQ stumbled 1.5 percent.

The strength on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to upbeat earnings news from big-name companies like Intel (INTC) and Amazon (AMZN).

Traders also digested the Labor Department's closely watched jobs report, which showed weaker than expected job growth in October. The data raised some concerns about the strength of the economy, but the report also led to renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

Oil futures settled modestly higher on Friday amid concerns about tensions in the Middle East after a report said Iran is planning further attacks on Israel. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended higher by $0.23 or 0.33 percent at $69.49 a barrel.