KOSPI May Spin Its Wheels Again On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished lower in back-to-back sessions, sinking more than 210 points or 3 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 6,870-point plateau and it may remain stuck in neutral again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to lower ahead of key U.S. inflation data. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower again on Tuesday as losses among the construction and health sectors were offset by gains from the energy and utility companies.

For the day, the index shed 18.93 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 6,870.81. Volume was 210.06 million shares worth 17.99 trillion won. There were 622 decliners and 231 gainers.

The lead from Wall Street remains weak as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and largely stayed that way throughout the trading session, although ending well off daily lows.

The Dow dropped 131.59 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 51,359.92, while the NASDAQ dipped 22.84 points or 0.09 percent to close at 26,797.54 and the S&P 500 fell 12.85 points or 0.17 percent to end at 7,670.84.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of closely watched inflation data later today. The data could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve's next monetary policy meeting late next month.

Crude oil prices could not hold early gains and turned significantly lower Tuesday on reports that crude oil exports from Saudi Arabia's Red Sea ports are recovering from an attack on a key pipeline earlier this month. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was down $2.90 or 3.1 percent to $89.70 a barrel.

Despite the pullback by the price of crude oil, treasury yields turned higher over the course of the session, extending a recent upward trend.

On the U.S. economic front, the Conference Board noted unexpected deterioration in U.S. consumer confidence in September.

Closer to home, South Korea will provide August figures for industrial production and retail sales later this morning. In July, production was up 0.2 percent on month and 3.6 percent on year, while sales fell 2.4 percent on month.