KOSPI Likely To Find Support At 2,600 Points

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, slumping almost 100 points or 3.6 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 2,610-point plateau and it may see mild upside on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement, with bargain hunting pitted against interest rate concerns. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Tuesday with damage across the board, particularly among the financial shares and technology stocks.

For the day, the index tumbled 60.80 points or 2.28 percent to finish at 2,609.63 after trading between 2,601.45 and 2,647.60. Volume was 557 million shares worth 11.9 trillion won. There were 771 decliners and 124 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial surrendered 2.61 percent, while KB Financial retreated 2.72 percent, Hana Financial tanked 3.25 percent, Samsung Electronics stumbled 2.68 percent, Samsung SDI dropped 1.90 percent, LG Electronics slid 0.76 percent, SK Hynix plunged 4.84 percent, Naver skidded 1,81 percent, LG Chem declined 3.17 percent, Lotte Chemical plummeted 4.73 percent, S-Oil shed 1.75 percent, SK Innovation sank 1.42 percent, POSCO declined 2.56 percent, KEPCO weakened 2.15 percent, Hyundai Mobis lost 1.86 percent, Hyundai Motor added 0.21 percent, Kia Motors perked 0.09 percent and SK Telecom was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and, after some volatility, ended on opposite sides of the line and little changed.

The Dow added 63.86 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 37,798.97, while the NASDAQ shed 19.77 points or 0.12 percent to close at 15,865.25 and the S&P 500 sank 10.41 points or 0.21 percent to end at 5,051.41.

The lack of direction shown by the markets came as traders weighed the idea of picking up stocks at relatively reduced levels against concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

The yield on the benchmark ten-year note reached its highest intraday levels in almost six months after the Federal Reserve released a report showing a continued increase in U.S. industrial production in the month of March.

Adding to the rate worries, Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated in remarks that rates are likely to remain higher for longer amid a "lack of progress" toward reaching the central bank's inflation goal.

Crude oil showed a lack of direction on Tuesday before easing slightly as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen indicated the U.S. plans to impose new sanctions on Iran in response to the country's attack on Israel. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery dipped $0.05 or 0.1 percent to $85.36 a barrel.