Renewed Consolidation Called For South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Monday, one session after ending the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 50 points or 2 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,570-point plateau although it's likely to hand back those gains on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on recession fears and concerns over the health of the world economy. The European and U.S. markets finished sharply lower and the Asian bourses are expected to open under pressure as well.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Monday as gains from the financials and automobile producers were capped by weakness from the chemical companies and a mixed picture from the technology stocks. For the day, the index gained 6.91 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 2,570.39 after trading between 2,549.99 and 2,579.76. Volume was 429.4 million shares worth 9.73 trillion won. There were 466 decliners and 406 gainers. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial climbed 1.33 percent, while KB Financial collected 1.03 percent, Hana Financial rallied 2.24 percent, Samsung SDI slumped 1.14 percent, LG Electronics gained 0.77 percent, SK Hynix stumbled 2.34 percent, Naver advanced 0.94 percent, LG Chem dipped 0.17 percent, Lotte Chemical declined 1.41 percent, SK Innovation surged 6.02 percent, POSCO Holdings tanked 2.05 percent, SK Telecom shed 0.54 percent, KEPCO spiked 2.02 percent, Hyundai Mobis picked up 0.98 percent, Hyundai Motor added 0.41 percent, Kia Motors accelerated 1.24 percent and Samsung Electronics was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests continued consolidation as the major averages opened lower on Monday and continued to weaken as the day progressed.

The Dow plummeted 890.01 points or 2.08 percent to finish at 41,911.71, while the NASDAQ crashed 727.90 points or 4.00 percent to close at 17,468.32 and the S&P 500 stumbled 155.64 points or 2.70 percent to end at 5,614.56.

The weakness on Wall Street came amidst rising concerns about the outlook for economic growth and corporate earnings after U.S. President Donald Trump declined to rule out the possibility of a recession following his tariff actions on Mexico, Canada and China.

With a slew of crucial economic data due later in the week, the mood in the market is extremely cautious. On tap are reports on consumer and producer price inflation, as well as readings on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.

Oil prices fell to six-month lows on Monday as worries about global economic growth and fears of a U.S. recession fueled demand concerns. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures settled lower by $1.01 or 1.5 percent at $66.03 a barrel, the lowest settlement since September 10, 2024.