South Kore Stock Market May Spin Its Wheels On Monday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the four-day losing streak in which it had plunged more than 420 points or 5.9 percent. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 6,900-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on concerns over crude oil prices and the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index jumped 178.82 points or 2.66 percent to finish at 6,894.23. Volume was 321.35 million shares worth 25.56 trillion won. There were 463 decliners and 407 gainers.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened mixed and slumped midday before ending mixed and little changed.

The Dow sank 95.36 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 51,682.64, while the NASDAQ climbed 104.24 points or 0.39 percent to end at 26,522.54 and the S&P 500 rose 12.74 points or 0.17 percent to close at 7,650.50.

For the week, the NASDAQ added 0.7 percent, the S&P 500 eased 0.1 percent and the Dow slumped 1.7 percent.

The choppy trading on the day came amid a mixed performance by crude oil prices and treasury yields, which have been key drivers of trading in recent sessions.

Oil prices moved lower amid optimism about a potential de-escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, but treasury yields jumped due to ongoing worries about the outlook for interest rates.

Crude oil prices slumped on Friday, extending losses as investors anticipate upcoming meetings between the U.S. and gulf leaders to de-escalate Middle East tensions. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was down $1.74 or 1.71 percent at $100.17 per barrel.

On the U.S. economic front, the Fed reported that industrial production unexpectedly came in flat in August, with a jump in utilities output offset by a decrease in manufacturing output.