Mild Consolidation Anticipated For KOSPI

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market headed south again on Thursday, one day after snapping the two-day slide in which it had retreated almost 40 points or 1.4 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,435-point plateau and it may tick lower again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets remains murky on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat, and the Asian markets are expected to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses among the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index tumbled 48.50 points or 1.95 percent to finish at 2,435.93 after trading between 2,423.59 and 2,450.05. Volume was 492.8 million shares worth 8.3 trillion won. There were 681 decliners and 212 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial tumbled 2.30 percent, while KB Financial dipped 0.34 percent, Hana Financial retreated 2.34 percent, Samsung Electronics tanked 3.28 percent, Samsung SDI dropped 1.62 percent, LG Electronics surrendered 3.72 percent, SK Hynix plunged 4.63 percent, Naver sank 1.41 percent, LG Chem shed 0.77 percent, Lotte Chemical climbed 1.09 percent, SK Innovation plummeted 3.28 percent, POSCO Holdings declined 2.05 percent, SK Telecom slumped 1.04 percent, KEPCO crashed 3.29 percent, Hyundai Mobis lost 0.79 percent, Hyundai Motor stumbled 2.08 percent and Kia Motors skidded 1.18 percent.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened higher Thursday on bargain hunting but faded as the day progressed, finally ending mixed and little changed.

The Dow rose 15.37 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 42,342.24, while the NASDAQ dipped 19.93 points or 0.10 percent to close at 19,372.77 and the S&P 500 eased 5.08 points or 0.09 percent to end at 5,867.08.

The initial strength on Wall Street came as traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels after Wednesday's steep losses, which saw the Dow tumble to its lowest closing level in over a month.

Wednesday's sell-off came after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to lower interest rates by a quarter-point but forecast rate cuts fewer than expected next year.

Upbeat economic data supported for the Fed's cautious approach to further rate cuts after the Commerce Department said GDP surged more than expected in Q3. Also, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits pulled back more than expected last week.

Crude oil futures were down on Thursday, weighed down by a stronger dollar after the Federal Reserve signaled fewer interest rate cuts next year than had been expected. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for January closed down $0.67 or 0.95 percent at $69.91 a barrel.