KOSPI May Give Up Support At 2,600 Points

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market turned lower again on Thursday, on day after halting the two-day losing streak in which it had dropped almost 30 points or 1.2 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,600-point plateau and it may take further damage again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild downside ahead of key inflation data later in the day. The European and U.S. markets saw mild downside and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index retreated 36.79 points or 1.39 percent to finish at 2,607.15 after trading between 2,603.41 and 2,633.03. Volume was 397.8 million shares worth 7.6 trillion won. There were 609 decliners and 279 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial dipped 0.21 percent, while KB Financial tumbled 1.96 percent, Hana Financial shed 0.65 percent, Samsung Electronics added 0.65 percent, Samsung SDI cratered 3.36 percent, LG Electronics retreated 2.57 percent, SK Hynix surrendered 3.27 percent, Naver plunged 3.04 percent, LG Chem fell 0.40 percent, Lotte Chemical surged 5.43 percent, SK Innovation crashed 3.25 percent, POSCO Holdings slumped 2.12 percent, SK Telecom eased 0.18 percent, KEPCO declined 1.33 percent, Hyundai Mobis tanked 2.21 percent, Hyundai Motor plummeted 4.28 percent and Kia Motors stumbled 3.45 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and bounced back and forth across the line before finishing modestly lower.

The Dow dropped 155.09 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 42,299.70, while the NASDAQ slumped 94.98 points or 0.53 percent to close at 17,804.03 and the S&P 500 sank 18.89 points or 0.33 percent to end at 5,693.31.

The lower close on Wall Street came amid ongoing concerns about President Donald Trump's trade policies after he announced plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on auto imports.

Traders may also have been reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve's preferred readings on consumer price inflation later today.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department said the economy grew slightly faster than estimated in the fourth quarter of 2024. Also, the National Association of Realtors said pending home sales saw a significant rebound in February after plunging to an all-time low in January.

Oil prices moved higher Thursday on supply concerns after data showed a sharp drop in U.S. crude oil inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May closed up $0.19 or about 0.27 percent at $69.84 a barrel.