KOSPI May See Mild Boost From Tech Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished lower in six straight sessions, sinking more than 175 points or 6.5 percent along the way. Now at a fresh 19-month closing low, the KOSPI rests just above the 2,490-point plateau although it may find a measure of traction on Wednesday.

The global forecast is cautious ahead of the U.S. interest rate decision later today. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed, and the oversold Asian markets figure to see little movement ahead of the rate decision.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the industrials and oil companies, support from the financials and a mixed picture from the technology shares.

For the day, the index slipped 11.54 points or 0.46 percent to finish at 2,492.97 after trading between 2,457.39 and 2,503.17. Volume was 661.21 million shares worth 9.80 trillion won. There were 706 decliners and 176 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.99 percent, while KB Financial jumped 1.86 percent, Hana Financial advanced 1.01 percent, Samsung Electronics fell 0.32 percent, Samsung SDI tanked 3.28 percent, LG Electronics perked 0.21 percent, SK Hynix rose 0.10 percent, Naver was down 0.39 percent, LG Chem added 0.36 percent, S-Oil shed 0.42 percent, SK Innovation plunged 2.74 percent, POSCO declined 1.68 percent, SK Telecom tumbled 1.83 percent, KEPCO gained 0.68 percent, Hyundai Motor retreated 2.00 percent, Kia Motors slumped 1.52 percent and Lotte Chemical was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is murky after the major averages shook off a higher open on Friday. The Dow and S&P quickly turned lower and stayed that way, while the NASDAQ bounced back and forth across the line to finish higher.

The Dow dropped 151.91 points or 0.50 percent to finish at 30,364.83, while the NASDAQ added 19.12 points or 0.18 percent to close at 10,828.35 and the S&P 500 dipped 14.15 points or 0.38 percent to end at 3,735.48.

The choppy trade on Wall Street comes ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later today.

The Fed is expected to hike interest rates by 50 basis points, although forecasts are suggesting a 75-bp increase.

In economic news, the Labor Department said producer prices increased on a monthly basis but eased off a 21-year high annually.

Crude oil futures drifted lower Tuesday on reports of a likely proposal to impose a federal surtax on oil companies to curb rising inflation. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended lower by $2.00 or 1.7 percent at $118.93 a barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will see May unemployment data later today; in April, the jobless rate was 2.7 percent.