South Korea Stock Market Likely To Open Under Pressure

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, sinking more than 85 points or 3.6 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,395-point plateau and it may extend its losses again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on rising concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the chemicals, financials and industrials, while the technology shares were mixed.

For the day, the index dropped 26.16 points or 1.08 percent to finish at 2,393.16 after trading between 2,390.20 and 2,416.88. Volume was 359.75 million shares worth 6.3 trillion won. There were 753 decliners and 140 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial sank 0.79 percent, while KB Financial and Kia Corporation both shed 0.76 percent, Hana Financial lost 0.55 percent, Samsung Electronics stumbled 1.82 percent, Samsung SDI climbed 1.29 percent, LG Electronics added 0.41 percent, Naver plunged 3.13 percent, LG Chem weakened 1,44 percent, Lotte Chemical tumbled 1.86 percent, S-Oil retreated 1.61 percent, SK Innovation slid 0.58 percent, POSCO tanked 2.39 percent, KEPCO skidded 1.01 percent, Hyundai Mobis declined 1.44 percent, Hyundai Motor slumped 0.60 percent and SK Telecom and SK Hynix were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street remains negative as the major averages opened lower and continued deeper into the red as the day progressed, ending near session lows.

The Dow retreated 350.76 points or 1.03 percent to finish at 33,596.76, while the NASDAQ tumbled 225.05 points or 2.00 percent to close at 11,014.89 and the S&P 500 dropped 57.58 points or 1.44 percent to end at 3,941.26.

The extended sell-off on Wall Street reflected lingering concerns about the outlook for interest rates ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting.

While the Fed is widely expected to slow the pace of interest rate hikes next week, recent upbeat economic data has raised concerns about how much further the central bank will raise rates at future meetings.

In economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing the U.S. trade deficit widened in the month of October.

Crude oil prices dropped to an 11-month low on Tuesday amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand as uncertainty and consequences of a continued Fed tightening weighed on the commodity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended lower by $2.68 or 3.5 percent at $74.25 a barrel.