Tech Shares Likely To Weigh On South Korea Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day losing streak in which it had dropped more than 35 points or 1.5 percent. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,250-point plateau although it figures to head south again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with technology stocks expected to fall under strong selling pressure. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financials, chemicals, industrials and technology stocks.

For the day, the index added 14.49 points or 0.65 percent to finish at 2,249.56 after trading between 2,234.49 and 2,258.11. Volume was 553.3 million shares worth 7.38 trillion won. There were 593 decliners and 269 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial tumbled 1.81 percent, while KB Financial dropped 0.98 percent, Hana Financial rallied 2.75 percent, Samsung Electronics spiked 2.95 percent, Samsung SDI soared 3.36 percent, LG Electronics tanked 2.87 percent, SK Hynix rose 0.43 percent, Naver plunged 3.63 percent, LG Chem jumped 1.81 percent, Lotte Chemical declined 1.71 percent, S-Oil gained 0.73 percent, POSCO slumped 1.04 percent, SK Telecom sank 0.74 percent, KEPCO shed 0.60 percent, Hyundai Mobis fell 0.50 percent, Hyundai Motor retreated 1.23 percent, Kia Motors skidded 1.21 percent and SK Innovation was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday, saw some strength midday but headed south as the day progressed.

The Dow managed a slight gain of 2.37 points or 0.01 percent to 31,839.11, while the NASDAQ plunged 228.12 points or 2.04 percent to close at 10.970.99 and the S&P 500 sank 28.51 points or 0.74 percent to end at 3,830.60.

The steep drop by the NASDAQ came amid a negative reaction to disappointing earnings news from tech giants Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOGL).

On the other hand, the slight uptick by the Dow came amid a strong gain by shares of Visa (V), which 4.6 percent after reporting better than expected third quarter results.

In economic news, the Commerce Department reported that new home sales in the U.S. pulled back sharply in September after unexpectedly skyrocketing in August, although the decrease was smaller than expected.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, buoyed by data showing a drop in gasoline stockpiles and a weak U.S. dollar. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December spiked $2.59 or 3 percent at $87.91 a barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will release an advance estimate for Q3 gross domestic product. GDP is expected to rise 0.1 percent on quarter and 2.8 percent on year, easing from 0.7 percent on quarter and 2.9 percent on year in the previous three months.