Soft Start Anticipated For South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Monday halted the three-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 45 points or 1.9 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,425-point plateau and it's in line for continued selling pressure on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on concerns for an economic slowdown and on the outlook for interest rates. 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 with damage across the board, particularly among the financials, industrials and technology stocks.

For the day, the index tumbled 54.14 points or 2.18 percent to finish at 2,426.89 after trading between 2,417.01 and 2,432.89. Volume was 441.63 million shares worth 7.79 trillion won. There were 822 decliners and 86 gainers. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial dropped 2.34 percent, while KB Financial shed 1.80 percent, Hana Financial declined 2.56 percent, Samsung Electronics sank 2.33 percent, LG Electronics plunged4.28 percent, SK Hynix retreated 2.73 percent, Naver tumbled 3.31 percent, LG Chem tanked 1.95 percent, Lotte Chemical plummeted 4.16 percent, S-Oil slid 0.94 percent, SK Innovation surrendered 3.44 percent, POSCO lost 2.01 percent, KEPCO fell 1.20 percent, Hyundai Mobis weakened 2.82 percent, Hyundai Motor stumbled 2.58 percent, Kia Motors slumped 1.77 percent and SK Telecom was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened sharply lower, staged a recovery midday but then faded into the close.

The Dow dropped 184.41 points or 0.57 percent to finish at 32,098.99, while the NASDAQ dropped 124.04 points or 1.02 percent to close at 12,017.67 and the S&P 500 lost 27.05 points or 0.67 percent end at 4,030.61.

Concerns about the outlook for interest rates continued to weigh on the markets following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech last week at the Jackson Hole economic symposium.

Powell's remarks were more hawkish than investors would have liked, signaling the Fed is likely to continue raising interest rates aggressively and maintain rates at a high level for an extended period. Trading activity remained somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to Friday's closely watched monthly employment report - which also may help to determine the outlook for interest rates.

Crude oil prices moved sharply higher on Monday amid indications that OPEC will decrease production if a deal with Iran to lift sanctions comes to pass. Crude oil for October delivery surged $3.95 or 4 percent to $97.01 a barrel.