Tech Shares May Keep KOSPI Floundering

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, sinking almost 35 points or 1.4 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 2,490-point plateau and it may remain stuck in neutral on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with support from the oil companies likely offset by weakness from the technology shares. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference. The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the technology stocks, chemicals and industrials, while the financials offered support. For the day, the index dropped 26.22 points or 1.04 percent to finish at 2,489.56 after trading between 2,483.73 and 2,513.93. Volume was 569.34 million shares worth 8.89 trillion won. There were 637 decliners and 261 gainers. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.30 percent, while KB Financial spiked 1.71 percent, Samsung Electronics stumbled 2.17 percent, Samsung SDI slumped 1.92 percent, LG Electronics retreated 1.75 percent, SK Hynix plunged 4.52 percent, Naver advanced 0.99 percent, LG Chem declined 1.63 percent, Lotte Chemical dropped 2.56 percent, SK Innovation added 0.64 percent, POSCO Holdings surrendered 1.91 percent, SK Telecom improved 0.72 percent, KEPCO skidded 1.23 percent, Hyundai Mobis lost 1.36 percent, Hyundai Motor tumbled 2.65 percent, Kia Motors eased 0.19 percent and Hana Financial was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed to higher as the major averages opened on opposite sides of the unchanged line on Monday and finished in the same manner.

The Dow rallied 359.95 points or 0.86 percent to finish at 42,298.40, while the NASDAQ slumped 74.01 points or 0.39 percent to close at 19,087.62 and the S&P 500 rose 8.27 points or 0.14 percent to end at 5,835.31.

Weakness in the tech sector weighed on Wall Street early in the session, as AI darling and market leader Nvidia (NVDA) plunged by as much as 4.7 percent.

Ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates also generated negative sentiment following last Friday's stronger-than-expected monthly jobs report.

Selling pressure waned over the course of the trading session, however, leading some traders to pick up stocks at reduced levels as the S&P 500 rebounded from its lowest intraday level in over two months.

Oil prices rose sharply to a five-month high on Monday amid potential supply risks after the U.S. imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia's oil exports, while a stronger dollar also weighed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February closed up $2.25 or nearly 3 percent at $78.82 a barrel.