Losing Streak May Continue For South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished lower in four straight sessions, sinking more than 85 points or 3.4 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,490-point plateau and it's got another negative lead for Wednesday's trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on renewed concerns over the health of the financial systems. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the oil, chemical and technology stocks, while the financials and automobile companies offered support.

For the day, the index stumbled 34.48 points or 1.37 percent to finish at 2,489.02 after trading between 2,472.33 and 2,531.35. Volume was 875.67 million shares worth 13.46 trillion won. There were 641 decliners and 248 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.85 percent, while KB Financial climbed 1.12 percent, Hana Financial improved 1.20 percent, Samsung Electronics stumbled 2.45 percent, Samsung SDI declined 2.75 percent, LG Electronics jumped 1.40 percent, SK Hynix retreated 1.95 percent, Naver dropped 2.05 percent, LG Chem tanked 3.26 percent, Lotte Chemical slumped 2.37 percent, S-Oil lost 0.65 percent, SK Innovation sank 2.23 percent, POSCO plunged 4.77 percent, SK Telecom perked 0.10 percent, KEPCO fell 0.38 percent, Hyundai Mobis spiked 2.37 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 4.74 percent and Kia Motors rallied 2.24 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened slightly lower on Tuesday but accelerated deeper into the red as the day progressed, ending near session lows.

The Dow plunged 344.57 points or 1.02 percent to finish at 33,530.83, while the NASDAQ tumbled 238.05 points or 1.98 percent to close at 11,799.16 and the S&P 500 sank 65.4 points or 1.58 percent to end at 4,071.63.

The sell-off on Wall Street reflected a negative reaction to quarterly results from First Republic (FRC), with the regional bank plunging by 49.4 percent. The steep drop came after the company reported a loss of more than $100 billion in deposits in the first quarter, renewing concerns about turmoil in the banking sector.

Results for UPS Inc. (UPS) also disappointed, while General Motors (GM), PepsiCo (PEP), McDonald's (MCD) and 3M (MMM) reported better than expected quarterly earnings.

In economic news, the Conference Board reported that consumer confidence deteriorated more than expected in April. Also, the Commerce Department said new home sales unexpectedly spiked to their highest level in a year in March.

Oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday amid concerns over the outlook for energy demand due to fears of a global economic slowdown, while the dollar's rise weighed as well. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended lower by $1.69 or 2.2 percent to $77.07 per barrel.