South Korea Bourse May Hand Back Wednesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day losing streak in which it had dropped more than 65 points or 2.8 percent. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,380-point plateau although it's likely to see renewed selling pressure on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with financials likely to lead the way lower amid fresh concerns over the stability of the sector. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares and industrials, while the technology stocks and energy companies were mixed.

For the day, the index climbed 30.75 points or 1.31 percent to finish at 2,379.72 after trading between 2,370.77 and 2,395.36. Volume was 438 million shares worth 7.5 trillion won. There were 713 gainers and 183 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 1.00 percent, while KB Financial improved 1.24 percent, Hana Financial jumped 2.31 percent, Samsung Electronics strengthened 1.36 percent, LG Electronics surged 5.01 percent, SK Hynix tanked 2.47 percent, Naver perked 0.20 percent, LG Chem rallied 2.27 percent, Lotte Chemical advanced 0.92 percent, S-Oil rose 0.38 percent, SK Innovation tumbled 2.82 percent, POSCO spiked 3.32 percent, SK Telecom climbed 1.38 percent, KEPCO added 0.58 percent, Hyundai Mobis increased 2.58 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 1.93 percent and Kia Motors soared 4.33 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is largely negative as the major averages opened sharply lower on Wednesday. A late push pared the losses and nudged the NASDAQ barely into the green.

The Dow tumbled 280.83 points or 0.87 percent to finish at 31,874.57, while the NASDAQ perked 5.90 points or 0.05 percent to close at 11,434.05 and the S&P 500 sank 27.36 points or 0.70 percent to end at 3,891.93.

The weakness on Wall Street was fueled by weakness from the financial sector.

In addition to ongoing concerns about turmoil in the financial sector following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, short-term debt woes of Swiss lender Credit Suisse contributed to the bearish sentiment in the market.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said retail sales in U.S. fell slightly more than expected in February. Also, the Labor Department said producer prices in the U.S. unexpectedly edged slightly lower last month.

Crude oil prices plunged to their lowest level since December 2021 on Wednesday, amid rising concerns about global economic growth and worries about the outlook for energy demand after data showed an increase in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate futures for April tumbled 5 percent at $67.61 a barrel.