KOSPI: Support Predicted At 2.500 Points

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved lower in six straight sessions, slumping almost 100 points or 4 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,500-point plateau although it's due for support on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement, although bargain hunting would likely limit any downside. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets are expected to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower again on Friday following losses from the technology and chemical companies, while the financials and industrials were mixed.

For the day, the index lost 15.35 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 2,504.50. Volume was 549.45 million shares worth 10.49 trillion won. There were 520 decliners and 358 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial perked 0.14 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.39 percent, Hana Financial skidded 1.18 percent, Samsung Electronics shed 0.60 percent, Samsung SDI tumbled 1.81 percent, LG Electronics retreated 1.60 percent, SK Hynix spiked 2.09 percent, Naver plunged 2.52 percent, LG Chem tanked 2.07 percent, Lotte Chemical stumbled 2.18 percent, S-Oil added 0.55 percent, SK Innovation plummeted 3.01 percent, POSCO sank 0.72 percent, SK Telecom eased 0.11 percent, KEPCO slumped1.21 percent, Hyundai Mobis fell 0.43 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 0.70 percent and Kia Motors was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages opened lower on Friday but recovered to finish mixed and little changed.

The Dow rose 25.96 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 34,500.66, while the NASDAQ shed 26.12 points or 0.20 percent to close at 13,290.78 and the S&P 500 eased 0.65 points or 0.01 percent to end at 4,369.71.

For the week, the Dow shed 2.2 percent, the S&P lost 2.1 percent and the NASDAQ sank 2.6 percent.

The lack of direction on Wall Street came as traders remained cautious amid concerns the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates higher for longer to control inflation.

The market had maintained a negative bias thanks to hawkish minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting and higher bond yields, but bargain hunting pared the losses.

Oil prices climbed higher Friday, extending gains from the previous session after data indicated a drop in output, while a weaker dollar contributed as well to the uptick in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures added $0.86 or 1.1 percent to $81.25 a barrel. WTI Crude futures shed 2 percent for the week.