Continued Consolidation Called For KOSPI

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market gave up less than a single point on Wednesday, but that was enough to end the seven-day winning streak in which it had spiked more than 90 points or 3.6 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,565-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is increasingly negative as the debt ceiling situation in the United States continues to drag on. The European and U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.

The KOSPI finished barely lower on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and industrials.

For the day, the index eased 0.10 points or 0.0 percent to finish at 2,567.45. Volume was 1.06 billion shares worth 7.79 trillion won. There were 460 decliners and 397 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.43 percent, while KB Financial dipped 0.20 percent, Hana Financial fell 0.36 percent, Samsung Electronics perked 0.15 percent, Samsung SDI added 0.56 percent, LG Electronics sank 0.79 percent, SK Hynix dipped 0.20 percent, Naver plunged 4.25 percent, LG Chem was up 0.14 percent, Lotte Chemical dropped 0.85 percent, SK Innovation slumped 0.11 percent, POSCO tumbled 1.59 percent, KEPCO eased 0.32 percent, Hyundai Mobis gained 0.66 percent, Kia Motors gained 0.45 percent and Hyundai Motor, SK Telecom and S-Oil were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests continued consolidation as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and remained in the red throughout the trading day.

The Dow tumbled 255.59 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 32,799.92. while the NASDAQ sank 76.08 points or 0.61 percent to close at 12,484.16 and the S&P 500 dropped 30.34 points or 0.73 percent to end at 4,115.24.

Lingering concerns about lawmakers' ability to reach an agreement on increasing the U.S. debt ceiling continued to weigh on Wall Street.

While negotiations have continued this week, traders remain worried about reports suggesting a lack of progress towards a deal.

Traders were also digesting the minutes of the Federal Reserve's May monetary policy meeting, which indicated uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates.

Crude oil prices moved higher Wednesday, rising for the third consecutive session on concerns over tightening supply after data showed a larger than expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July jumped $1.43 or 2 percent at $74.34 a barrel.

Closer to home, the Bank of Korea will wrap up its monetary policy meeting this morning and then announce its decision on interest rates. The BoK is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 3.50 percent.