South Korea Shares Expected To Remain Under Pressure

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, slipping almost 20 points or 0.7 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 2,725-point plateau and it may extend its losing streak on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on a dimming outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished barely lower on Wednesday as losses from the financials, technology stocks and energy companies were mitigated by strong support from the automobile producers.

For the day, the index dipped 0.72 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 2,723.46. Volume was 476 million shares worth 12.1 trillion won. There were 474 decliners and 402 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial tumbled 2.15 percent, while KB Financial surrendered 3.06 percent, Hana Financial retreated 1.74 percent, Samsung Electronics dropped 0.89 percent, Samsung SDI lost 0.73 percent, LG Electronics declined 1.24 percent, SK Hynix soared 2.97 percent, Naver shed 0.33 percent, LG Chem fell 0.39 percent, Lotte Chemical rallied 2.64 percent, S-Oil slumped 0.87 percent, SK Innovation dipped 0.28 percent, POSCO sank 0.76 percent, SK Telecom added 0.58 percent, KEPCO gained 0.55 percent, Hyundai Mobis accelerated 2.91 percent, Hyundai Motor skyrocketed 9.49 percent and Kia Motors surged 3.93 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages spent the first half of Wednesday hugging the line before stumbling into the red late in the day.

The Dow tumbled 201.95 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 39,671.04, while the NASDAQ dropped 31.08 points or 0.18 percent to close at 16,801.54 and the S&P 500 fell 14.40 points or 0.27 percent to end at 5,307.01.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came as the Fed minutes suggested officials expect to maintain interest rates at current levels longer than previously thought.

The minutes of the April 30-May 1 meeting said participants highlighted disappointing readings on inflation over the first quarter and indicators pointing to strong economic momentum.

While officials also discussed reducing policy restraint in the event of an unexpected weakening in labor market conditions, participants also noted a willingness to raise rates further of necessary should risks to inflation materialize.

Oil prices fell to a two-month low on Wednesday after data showed an unexpected rebound in crude oil inventories in the U.S. last week. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for July ended down by $1.09 or 1.4 percent at $77.57 a barrel.

Closer to home, the Bank of Korea will wrap up its monetary policy meeting later this morning and announce its decision on interest rates; the central bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate steady at 3.50 percent.