KOSPI May Add To Its Winnings On Monday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market used a record-setting performance on Friday to halt the three-day losing streak in which it had cratered more than 1,170 points or 18.2 percent. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 6,600-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with retail and energy stocks expected to lead the way higher. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished with the biggest single-day spike in its history on Friday with gains across the board, but especially by the technology shares that had been savaged earlier in the week.

For the day, the index skyrocketed 1,001.89 points or 17.91 percent to finish at 6,595.45 after trading between 5,629.76 and 6,630.77. Volume was 430.2 million shares worth 48.9 trillion won. There were 772 gainers and 127 decliners.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Friday, shrugged off an early dip and then trended higher for the balance of the day, ending near session highs.

The Dow jumped 276.93 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 52,485.03, while the NASDAQ rallied 251.65 points or 1.00 percent to end at 25,373.85 and the S&P 500 added 52.09 points or 0.70 percent to close at 7,489.72.

For the week, the NASDAQ surged 1.5 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Dow both shot up 1 percent.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street came amid a sharp increase by shares of Amazon (AMZN) after the company reported better-than-expected A2 revenue and cloud growth.

Crude oil prices jumped on Friday after Iran's military conducted strikes on U.S. military assets in Bahrain and Kuwait. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was up $1.48 or 1.77 percent at $85.07 per barrel.

Meanwhile, traders shrugged a surge by treasury yields even as the 10-year yield bounced back to its highest levels since early 2025 in reaction to the sharp increase in crude oil prices.