South Korea Bourse May Run Out Of Steam On Friday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has climbed higher in three straight sessions, advancing more than 60 points or 2.2 percent along the way. Now at a 30-month closing high, the KOSPI rests just above the 2,805-point plateau although investors may lock in gains on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with profit taking among the technology stocks likely to cap any upside. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Thursday as gains from the financials, chemicals and energy companies were capped by weakness from the industrials.

For the day, the index added 10.30 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 2,807.63 after trading between 2,796.37 and 2,812.62. Volume was 745.18 million shares worth 13.28 trillion won. There were 496 gainers and 369 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial soared 2.80 percent, while KB Financial spiked 2.41 percent, Hana Financial rallied 2.03 percent, Samsung Electronics improved 0.49 percent, Samsung SDI dipped 0.13 percent, LG Electronics rose 0.37 percent, SK Hynix jumped 1.71 percent, Naver lost 0.42 percent, LG Chem gained 0.56 percent, Lotte Chemical surged 7.30 percent, S-Oil added 0.44 percent, SK Innovation skyrocketed 15.57 percent, POSCO shed 0.54 percent, Hyundai Mobis retreated 1.45 percent, Hyundai Motor fell 0.35 percent, Kia Motors slumped 1.28 percent and SK Telecom and KEPCO were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened higher, but the NASDAQ and S&P 500 turned lower and finished that way - while the Dow ended in the green.

The Dow rallied 299.90 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 39,134.76, while the NASDAQ stumbled 140.64 points or 0.79 percent to close at 17,721.59 and the S&P sank 13.86 points or 0.25 percent to end at 5,473.17.

While the early strength on Wall Street came amid a continued advanced by shares of Nvidia (NVDA), the subsequent downturn by the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 was also led by a significant pullback by the AI darling and market leader.

The downturn by the NASDAQ and the S&P may also have reflected profit taking after the indexes reached new record intraday highs, with the S&P 500 turning lower after climbing above 5,500 for the first time.

In economic news, the Labor Department reported a modest pullback by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the Commerce Department noted a steep drop in new U.S. residential construction in May.

Crude oil prices advanced on Thursday after data showed crude inventories in the U.S. fell slightly more than expected last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $0.60 at $82.17 a barrel.