South Korea Shares May Extend Friday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market emphatically ended the two-day winning streak in which it had rallied almost 340 points or 4.2 percent to a record closing high. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 7,500-point plateau and it figures to open in the red again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on surging oil prices, ambiguity about the conflict in the Middle East and concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished with huge losses across the board on Friday as investors locked in gains after the market broke through the 8,000-point mark for the first time.

For the day, the index plummeted 488.23 points or 6.12 percent to finish at 7,493.18 after trading between 7,371.68 and 8,046.78. Volume was 878.7 million shares worth 57.8 trillion won. There were 704 decliners and 165 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial sank 1.76 percent, while KB Financial dipped 0.26 percent, Hana Financial retreated 5.93 percent, Samsung Electronics plummeted 8.61 percent, Samsung SDI contracted 3.46 percent, LG Electronics skyrocketed 10.83 percent, SK Hynix crashed 7.66 percent, Naver tumbled 4.46 percent, LG Chem tanked 4.71 percent, Lotte Chemical cratered 5.57 percent, SK Innovation shed 2.53 percent, POSCO Holdings declined 3.91 percent, SK Telecom lost 1.36 percent, KEPCO slumped 2.27 percent, Hyundai Mobis plummeted 3.23 percent, Hyundai Motor dropped 1.69 percent and Kia Motors surrendered 5.67 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is bleak as the major averages opened lower on Friday and remained in the red throughout the trading day, ending ta session lows.

The Dow tumbled 537.33 points or 1.07 percent to finish at 49,526.17, while the NASDAQ plunged 410.05 points or 1.54 percent to close at 26,225.14 and the S&P 500 sank 92.74 points or 1.24 percent to end at 7,408.50.

For the week, the S&P perked 0.1 percent, while the NASDAQ eased 0.1 percent and the Dow slipped 0.2 percent.

The sell-off on Wall Street reflected profit taking following recent strength in the markets, which lifted the NASDAQ and S&P 500 to record highs, with technology shares leading the markets lower.

A sharp increase in treasury yields also weighed on the markets, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note surging to its highest levels in almost a year after recent data has shown significant accelerations in the pace of consumer and producer price inflation, leading to concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

Crude oil prices surged on Friday after the U.S.-China summit ended with no announcement of Chinese intervention to end the gulf war, leaving the Strait of Hormuz blockade in place. West Texas Intermediate crude for June was up $4.18 or 4.13 percent at $105.35 per barrel.