Soft Start Anticipated For South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market ticked higher again on Thursday, one session after ending the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up almost 50 points or 2 percent. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 2,600-point plateau although it may turn lower again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on ebbing optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets finished slightly lower and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares and mixed performances from the industrial, technology and chemical companies.

For the day, the index perked 4.80 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 2,599.16.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial rallied 2.53 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.56 percent, Hana Financial perked 0.16 percent, Samsung Electronics tanked 2.32 percent, Samsung SDI fell 0.40 percent, LG Electronics sank 0.82 percent, SK Hynix surged 4.89 percent, Naver soared 3.73 percent, LG Chem retreated 1.25 percent, Lotte Chemical strengthened 1.33 percent, S-Oil tumbled 1.90 percent, SK Innovation accelerated 3.89 percent, POSCO declined 1.20 percent, SK Telecom climbed 1.10 percent, KEPCO shed 0.50 percent, Hyundai Mobis spiked 2.07 percent, Kia Motors advanced 1.20 percent and Hyundai Motor was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild consolidation as the major averages opened slightly under water on Thursday and pretty much stayed that way throughout the session.

The Dow shed 57.88 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 42,454.12, while the NASDAQ dipped 9.57 points or 0.05 percent to close at 18,282.05 and the S&P 500 sank 11.99 points or 0.21 percent to end at 5,780.05.

The modest weakness on Wall Street followed the release of a highly anticipated Labor Department report showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased by slightly more than expected in the month of September.

The bigger than expected increase by consumer prices further offset optimism the Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively lower interest rates in the coming months.

Negative sentiment was also generated in reaction to a separate Labor Department report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits increased by much more than expected last week.

Oil prices rose sharply on Thursday as worries about escalating tensions in the Middle East outweighed uncertainty about the outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended higher by $2.61 or about 3.56 percent at $75.85 a barrel.

Closer to home, the Bank of Korea will wrap up its monetary policy meeting later this morning and then announce its decision on interest rates; the BoK is expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 3.50 percent.