South Korea Shares May Find Traction On Friday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, slipping more than 35 points or 1.4 percent along the way. The KOSPI market now rests just beneath the 2,615-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive as soft U.S. economic data reinforced the case for an interest rate cut in June. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the financials and automobile producers, while the energy companies were up and the technology and chemical stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index slid 6.62 points or 0.25 percent to finish at the daily low of 2,613.80 after peaking at 2,643.86. Volume was 607.8 million shares worth 10.25 trillion won. There were 539 decliners and 330 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial stumbled 1.83 percent, while KB Financial plunged 3.27 percent, Hana Financial sank 0.75 percent, Samsung Electronics retreated 1.35 percent, Samsung SDI eased 0.13 percent, LG Electronics slumped 1.11 percent, Naver added 0.49 percent, LG Chem surged 4.88 percent, Lotte Chemical shed 0.68 percent, S-Oil improved 0.70 percent, SK Innovation perked 0.16 percent, POSCO jumped 1.73 percent, SK Telecom added 0.39 percent, KEPCO surrendered 1.90 percent, Hyundai Mobis lost 0.66 percent, Hyundai Motor tanked 2.24 percent, Kia Motors tumbled 3.49 percent and SK Hynix was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday but climbed steadily throughout the day so that they all ended in the green.

The Dow jumped 348.85 points or 0.91 percent to finish at 38,773.12, while the NASDAQ added 47.03 points or 0.30 percent to close at 15,906.17 and the S&P 500 rose 29.11 points or 0.58 percent to end at 5,029.73.

The higher close on Wall Street came after a Commerce Department report showing a much bigger than expected decrease in U.S. retail sales in January led to renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

The Federal Reserve also released a report showing industrial production in the U.S. unexpectedly edged slightly lower in January.

Crude oil futures ended higher on Thursday as the dollar weakened after the weak retail sales data raised hopes of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve in June. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March rallied $1.39 or 1.8 percent at $78.03 a barrel.