KOSPI Likely To Head South Again On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Wednesday snapped the two-day losing streak in which it had dropped almost 30 points or 1.2 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,640-point plateau although it's expected to see renewed consolidation on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on tariff concerns, particularly among the technology companies. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the technology, chemical and automobile companies, while the financial sector was soft.

For the day, the index climbed 28.13 points or 1.08 percent to finish at 2,643.94 after trading between 2,618.05 and 2,649.15. Volume was 499.76 million shares worth 7.56 trillion won. There were 458 gainers and 413 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial dropped 0.92 percent, while KB Financial eased 0.12 percent, Hana Financial slumped 0.96 percent, Samsung Electronics spiked 2.68 percent, Samsung SDI soared 3.49 percent, LG Electronics accelerated 2.42 percent, SK Hynix rallied 2.88 percent, Naver tumbled 1.69 percent, LG Chem surged 3.57 percent, Lotte Chemical jumped 2.71 percent, SK Innovation strengthened 1.53 percent, POSCO Holdings slipped 0.16 percent, SK Telecom lost 0.53 percent, Hyundai Mobis improved 1.42 percent, Hyundai Motor advanced 0.91 percent, Kia Motors added 0.60 percent and KEPCO was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened mixed on Wednesday but all trended lower as the day progressed, ending solidly under water.

The Dow dropped 132.71 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 42,454.79, while the NASDAQ tumbled 372.84 points or 2.04 percent to close at 17,899.02 and the S&P 500 sank 64,45 points or 1.12 percent to end at 5,712.20.

The sharp pullback by the NASDAQ came as big-name tech stocks came under pressure, reflecting ongoing uncertainty about President Donald Trump's tariff plans.

Stocks saw further downside after the White House said Trump plans to announce new tariffs on auto imports later this afternoon.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department noted an unexpected increase by new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in the month of February.

Oil prices moved higher Wednesday on supply concerns after data showed a sharp drop in U.S. crude oil inventories last week, while renewed efforts from the U.S. to limit Venezuelan and Iranian oil exports also boosted prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May closed up $0.65 or about 0.94 percent at $69.65 a barrel.