Continued Consolidation Called For KOSPI

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Monday's holiday for Hangul Day, the South Korea stock market had snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 80 points or 3.7 percent. The KOSPI sits just above the 2,230-point plateau and the losses figure to accelerate on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns over economic growth and the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished slightly lower on Friday following losses from the automobile companies, gains from the financials and mixed performances from the oil and technology stocks.

For the day, the index slipped 5.02 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 2,232.84 after trading between 2,215.08 and 2,245.88. Volume was 402.26 million shares worth 6.96 trillion won. There were 487 decliners and 370 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial rallied 2.16 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.22 percent, Hana Financial improved 1.34 percent, Samsung Electronics eased 0.18 percent, Samsung SDI and LG Chem both climbed 1.03 percent, LG Electronics advanced 1.36 percent, SK Hynix strengthened 1.45 percent, Naver plunged 4.19 percent, Lotte Chemical gathered 1.32 percent, S-Oil dropped 0.82 percent, SK Innovation surged 3.59 percent, POSCO perked 1.12 percent, SK Telecom shed 0.59 percent, KEPCO skidded 1.02 percent, Hyundai Mobis added 0.50 percent, Hyundai Motor retreated 1.40 percent and Kia Motors sank 0.70 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened flat on Monday but quickly turned lower, staying that way for the balance of the session.

The Dow dropped 93.91 points or 0.32 percent to finish at 29,202.88, while the NASDAQ tumbled 110.30 points or 1.04 percent to end at 10,542.10 and the S&P 500 slipped 27.27 points or 0.75 percent to close at 3,612.39.

The soft action on Wall Street may be partially attributed to light turnover, with many investors away from their desks for the Columbus Day holiday.

Soft sentiment still governed the markets after the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report last week failed to ease concerns about the outlook for interest rates by coming in stronger than economists had anticipated.

U.S. inflation data, minutes from the Fed's September meeting and reports on retail sales and consumer sentiment due this week will provide more insights into policymakers' view of where inflation stands and the outlook for the future path of interest rates.

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Monday as soft data from China raised concerns about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November sank $1.51 or 1.6 percent at 91.13 a barrel.