KOSPI May Give Up Support At 2,600 Points

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market headed south again on Thursday, one day after ending the two-day slide in which it had fallen almost 25 points or 0.9 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,620-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on continuing concerns over U.S. tariffs. The European and U.S. markets finished under water and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares and technology stocks and mixed performances from the chemicals and industrials.

For the day, the index sank 19.34 points or 0.73 percent to finish at 2,621.75 after trading between 2,610.47 and 2,638.47. Volume was 504.5 million shares worth 10.4 trillion won. There were 563 decliners and 321 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial eased 0.11 percent, while KB Financial dropped 0.86 percent, Hana Financial retreated 1.60 percent, Samsung Electronics shed 0.53 percent, Samsung SDI added 0.42 percent, LG Electronics rose 0.36 percent, SK Hynix tumbled 1.87 percent, Naver plunged 5.40 percent, LG Chem perked 0.24 percent, Lotte Chemical surrendered 1.78 percent, SK Innovation advanced 0.99 percent, POSCO Holdings fell 0.35 percent, SK Telecom stumbled 2.93 percent, KEPCO lost 0.64 percent, Hyundai Mobis rallied 1.56 percent, Hyundai Motor slumped 2.20 percent and Kia Motors gained 0.53 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is grim as the major averages opened higher on Thursday but faded into the red as the day progressed, ending near session lows.

The Dow stumbled 193.62 points or 0.45 percent to finish at 43,239.50, while the NASDAQ plummeted 530 points or 2.78 percent to close at 18,544.42 and the S&P 500 dropped 94.49 points or 1.59 percent to end at 5,861.57.

Stocks initially benefited from earnings news from Nvidia (NVDA), which reported better than expected Q4 results and provided upbeat revenue guidance. But its shares subsequently tumbled by 8.5 percent as the AI darling and market leader also warned about increase global competition.

The sell-off on Wall Street also came as President Donald Trump said 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada will go into effect on March 4. Trump said an additional 10 percent tariff on imports from China will also be imposed, claiming without evidence that drugs are pouring into the U.S. from Mexico and Canada and that a large percentage of them are supplied by China.

In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose much more than expected last week. Also, the Commerce Department said durable goods orders surged more than expected in January.

Oil prices climbed higher on Thursday as the U.S. decision to revoke Chevron Corporation's license to operate in Venezuela raised supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April closed higher by $1.73 or 2.52 percent at $70.35 a barrel.