More Pain Predicted For South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished lower in four straight sessions, sinking more than 70 points or 2.9 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,460-point plateau and it's expected to open under pressure again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets continues to be negative on concerns over the outlook for interest rates and recession fears. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the financials, technology stocks and chemicals.

For the day, the index dropped 30.19 points or 1.21 percent to finish at 2,462.50 after trading between 2,457.08 and 2,475.77. Volume was 412.69 million shares worth 6.01 trillion won. There were 771 decliners and 127 gainers. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial lost 0.70 percent, while KB Financial tumbled 2.07 percent, Hana Financial declined 1.82 percent, Samsung Electronics retreated 1.48 percent, Samsung SDI plunged 2.91 percent, LG Electronics sank 0.99 percent, SK Hynix slumped 1.24 percent, Naver skidded 1.01 percent, LG Chem dipped 0.16 percent, Lotte Chemical surrendered 2.19 percent, S-Oil surged 3.72 percent, SK Innovation added 0.24 percent, POSCO tanked 2.35 percent, SK Telecom gained 0.78 percent, KEPCO dropped 0.93 percent, Hyundai Mobis stumbled 1.17 percent, Hyundai Motor shed 0.53 percent and Kia Motors rose 0.26 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is brutal as the major averages opened sharply lower and remained deep in the red throughout the trading day.

The Dow plummeted 643.13 points or 1.91 percent to finish at 33,063.61, while the NASDAQ plunged 323.64 points or 2.55 percent to close at 12,381.57 and the S&P 500 sank 90.49 points or 2.14 percent to end at 4,137.99.

Concerns about the outlook for interest rates contributed to the weakness on Wall Street ahead of this week's economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming - where Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to sound a more hawkish tone in his comments.

Aggressive monetary tightening by central banks in Europe add to the nervous sentiment, as do concerns about a possible recession in major economies.

Crude oil prices moved lower on Monday on concerns about outlook for energy demand, while the dollar's strength also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended lower by $0.54 or 0.6 percent at $90.23 a barrel.