South Korea Shares May Extend Tuesday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished lower in back-to-back sessions, cratering more than 430 points or 5.3 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 7,650-point plateau and it figures to open under pressure again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on renewed hostilities in the Middle East and the corresponding jump in oil prices. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index plummeted 395.02 points or 4.91 percent to finish at 7,656.31. Volume was 512.29 million shares worth 39.66 trillion won. There were 509 decliners and 358 gainers.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed but quickly turned lower and spent the balance of the day under water, finishing off session lows.

The Dow sank 130.76 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 52,925.15, while the NASDAQ slumped 302.47 points or 1.16 percent to end at 25,818.69 and the S&P 500 lost 33.58 points or 0.45 percent to close at 7,503.85.

The slump by the NASDAQ came amid a sharp pullback by semiconductor stocks, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plummeting by 4.7 percent.

Gold, airline and computer hardware stocks also saw considerable weakness, while energy, pharmaceutical and healthcare stocks turned in strong performances.

Crude oil prices spiked on Tuesday as concerns of fresh U.S.-Iran conflicts surfaced after attacks on at least three tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was up $2.01 or 2.93 percent at $70.56 per barrel.

Energy stocks benefited from that sharp increase by the price of crude oil, although the spike in prices weighed on other sectors.

Closer to home, South Korea will see May figures for current account later this morning; in April, the current account surplus was $28.29 billion.