KOSPI May Give Up Support At 2,500 Points

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Friday snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had rallied more than 75 points or 3.1 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,520-point plateau and it's expected to open under pressure again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on inflation and tariff concerns. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the chemicals, industrials and technology stocks, while the financial sector was mixed.

For the day, the index shed 14.83 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 2,521.92 after trading between 2,519.01 and 2,537.63. Volume was 411.62 million shares worth 10 trillion won. There were 597 decliners and 290 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial retreated 1.50 percent, while KB Financial strengthened 1.30 percent, Hana Financial collected 0.33 percent, Samsung Electronics shed 0.56 percent, Samsung SDI skidded 1.18 percent, LG Electronics slumped 1.24 percent, SK Hynix dipped 0.25 percent, Naver tanked 2.80 percent, LG Chem stumbled 2.25 percent, Lotte Chemical surrendered 1.98 percent, SK Innovation declined 2.06 percent, POSCO Holdings weakened 1.44 percent, SK Telecom dropped 1.60 percent, KEPCO sank 2.12 percent, Hyundai Mobis lost 1.79 percent, Hyundai Motor retreated 1.47 percent and Kia Motors tumbled 2.33 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened higher on Friday but quickly slipped under water and finished the session with sizeable losses.

The Dow stumbled 444.20 points or 0.99 percent to finish at 44,303.40, while the NASDAQ slumped 268.60 points or 1.36 percent to close at 19,523.40 and the S&P 500 sank 57.58 points or 0.95 percent to end at 6,025.99. For the week, the S&P 500 dipped 0.2 percent, while the Dow and the NASDAQ both fell 0.5 percent.

The weakness that emerged early in the session came after the University of Michigan released a report showing consumer sentiment unexpectedly deteriorated in February amid a surge by year-ahead inflation expectations.

Stocks saw further downside after President Donald Trump said he will announce reciprocal tariffs on many countries this week, with the U.S. imposing tariffs on imports equal to the rates imposed on American exports.

Traders were also reacting to mixed U.S. jobs data, with a closely watched Labor Department report showing weaker than expected job growth in January but an unexpected decrease in the unemployment rate.

Oil prices climbed higher on Friday after the U.S. imposed new sanctions on Iran's crude exports, although a stronger dollar limited oil's gains. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March rose $0.39 or 0.5 percent at $71.00 a barrel. WTI crude futures shed 2 percent in the week.