KOSPI Tipped To Extend Friday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered just 7 points or 0.3 percent. The KOSPI now rests just shy of the 2,425-point plateau and it's looking at another soft start for Monday's trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are expected to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Friday as losses from the technology stocks and automobile producers were mitigated by support from the financial shares.

For the day, the index lost 15.48 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 2,423.61. Volume was 363.7 million shares worth 6.86 trillion won. There were 662 decliners and 222 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.26 percent, while KB Financial strengthened 1.40 percent, Hana Financial rose 0.22 percent, Samsung Electronics skidded 1.13 percent, Samsung SDI eased 0.15 percent, LG Electronics slumped 1.13 percent, SK Hynix tumbled 1.83 percent, Naver tanked 2.58 percent, LG Chem perked 0.15 percent, Lotte Chemical surrendered 2.14 percent, S-Oil advanced 0.86 percent, SK Innovation sank 0.89 percent, POSCO plunged 2.87 percent, SK Telecom added 0.45 percent, KEPCO gained 0.49 percent, Hyundai Mobis improved 0.69 percent, Hyundai Motor retreated 1.31 percent and Kia Motors declined 1.44 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is solidly negative as the major averages opened lower on Friday and stayed in the red throughout the session, finishing near daily lows.

The Dow tumbled 336.98 points or 1.02 percent to finish at 32,816.92, while the NASDAQ slumped 195.46 points or 1.69 percent to close at 11,394.94 and the S&P 500 sank 42.28 points or 1.05 percent to end at 3,970.04.

For the holiday-shortened week, the S&P dove 2.7 percent, while the Dow plunged 3.0 percent and the NASDAQ plummeted 3.3 percent.

The early sell-off on Wall Street came after the Commerce Department reported an unexpected acceleration in the annual rate of growth by core consumer prices in January.

The unexpected spike in core consumer prices added to recent concerns about the outlook for interest rates as the Federal Reserve may be inclined to leave interest rates higher for longer.

After coming under pressure early in the session, the price of crude oil showed a big turnaround over the course of the trading day on Friday. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery jumped $0.93 or 1.2 percent to $76.32 after falling as low as $74.09 a barrel in early trading.