KOSPI May Hand Back Thursday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Thursday wrote an emphatic finish to the two-day slide in which it had plummeted more than 500 points or 8 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 6,850-point plateau although it may turn lower again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak thanks to surging oil prices and continued unrest in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are likely to follow suit.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Thursday with gains across the board, especially among the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index surged 381.41 points or 5.89 percent to finish at 6,852.58 after peaking at 6,904.55. Volume was 301.74 million shares worth 28.07 trillion won. There were 518 gainers and 338 decliners.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened under water on Thursday and continued to trend lower as the day progressed, ending near session lows.

The Dow tumbled 703.84 points or 1.32 percent to finish at 52,759.21, while the NASDAQ dropped 263.92 points or 1.00 percent to close at 26,067.17 and the S&P 500 sank 66.82 points or 0.87 percent to end at 7,641.16.

The weakness on Wall Street came as the price of crude oil extended a recent surge amid concerns about the conflict in the Middle East following President Donald Trump's latest threats or economic warfare.

Crude oil prices surged on Thursday after Trump announced his stringent economic measures against Iran. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was up $2.01 or 2.34 percent at $87.84 per barrel.

The sharp increase in the price of crude oil also contributed to a substantial rebound by treasury yields, which had tumbled on Wednesday after the Treasury Department announced upscaled buyback operations for longer-term debt.