KOSPI May Test Support At 2,600 Points

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, tumbling almost 60 points or 2.5 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,600-point plateau and it's likely to open under pressure again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky after inconsistent U.S. employment data. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished barely lower on Friday as losses from the technology and energy companies were offset by gains from the financials.

For the day, the index eased 2.59 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 2,602.80. Volume was 637.9 million shares worth 10.8 trillion won. There were 539 gainers and 332 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.43 percent, while KB Financial jumped 1.56 percent, Hana Financial gathered 0.26 percent, Samsung Electronics sank 0.73 percent, Samsung SDI shed 0.63 percent, LG Electronics dropped 0 96 percent, SK Hynix perked 0.08 percent, Naver added 0.22 percent, LG Chem skidded 1.09 percent, Lotte Chemical increased 0.45 percent, S-Oil fell 0.39 percent, SK Innovation tumbled 1.69 percent, POSCO improved 0.34 percent, SK Telecom gained 0.54 percent, KEPCO lost 0.46 percent, Hyundai Motor rose 0.26 percent, Kia Motors eased 0.12 percent and Hyundai Mobis was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened higher on Friday and spent most of the day in the green before late selling pressure saw them finish slightly under water.

The Dow dropped 150.28 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 35,0.65.62, while the NASDAQ lost 50.46 points or 0.36 percent to close at 13,909.24 and the S&P 500 sank 23.86 points or 0.53 percent to end at 4,478.03.

For the week, the Dow slumped 1.1 percent, the S&P 500 tumbled 2.3 percent and the NASDAQ plunged 2.9 percent.

The volatility on Wall Street came after the Labor Department released a report showing that employment in the U.S. increased less than expected in July, although the jobless rate surprisingly ticked lower.

Following the mixed report, most economists still expect another pause in interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve next month, although the data has led to some uncertainty about the outlook for rates beyond that.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Friday, extending recent gains amid tightening supply issues after Saudi Arabia and Russia pledged to cut output through next month. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended higher by $1.27 at $82.82 a barrel.