More Pain Predicted For South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, dropping more than 40 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,420-point plateau and it's likely to take further damage on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on persistent concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the oil, chemical and technology stocks, while the financials and automobile producers were mixed.

For the day, the index shed 12.82 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 2,419.09 after trading between 2,416.25 and 2,444.20. Volume was 465.3 million shares worth 10.2 trillion. There were 478 decliners and 396 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial shed 0.55 percent, while KB Financial perked 0.20 percent, Hana Financial declined 1.61 percent, Samsung Electronics fell 0.33 percent, Samsung SDI plunged 2.92 percent, LG Electronics lost 0.43 percent, SK Hynix retreated 1.38 percent, Naver was down 0.25 percent, LG Chem slumped 0.70 percent, Lotte Chemical dipped 0.17 percent, S-Oil eased 0.12 percent, SK Innovation plummeted 3.51 percent, POSCO tumbled 1.98 percent, SK Telecom jumped 1.71 percent, KEPCO sank 0.68 percent, Hyundai Mobis rallied 2.09 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 0.80 percent and Kia Motors skidded 1.01 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday and hugged the line before plummeting in afternoon trade, finishing near session lows.

The Dow plunged 543.54 points or 1.66 percent to finish at 32,254.86, while the NASDAQ tumbled 237.65 points or 2.05 percent to close at 11,338.35 and the S&P 500 sank 73.69 points or 1.85 percent to end at 3,918.32.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street followed the Labor Department report the showed initial jobless claims rose by more than expected last week, although the data helped ease concerns about labor market tightness.

Buying interest tumbled as the day progressed as traders looked ahead to the release of the Labor Department's more closely watched monthly jobs report later today. The report could have a significant effect on the pace of interest rate hikes as determined by the FOMC.

Crude oil prices retreated on Thursday, extending losses to a third straight day amid concerns that aggressive policy tightening by the Federal Reserve could slow global economic growth and result in a drop in energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended lower by $0.94 or 1.2 percent at $75.72 a barrel.