South Korea Shares May Tick Lower Again On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved lower in five straight sessions, sinking almost 100 points or 4 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,435-point plateau and it may continue to spin its wheels again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets remains soft on concerns over an economic slowdown and the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the financials, technology stocks and oil companies.

For the day, the index dropped 27.16 points or 1.10 percent to finish at 2,435.34 after trading between 2,431.83 and 2,454.55. Volume was 460.02 million shares worth 7.34 trillion won. There were 686 decliners and 206 gainers. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial fell 0.42 percent, while KB Financial slumped 1.51 percent, Hana Financial eased 0.13 percent, Samsung Electronics retreated 1.50 percent, Samsung SDI tumbled 2.17 percent, LG Electronics plunged 1.80 percent, SK Hynix declined 1.68 percent, Naver stumbled 1.83 percent, LG Chem tanked 2.97 percent, Lotte Chemical skidded 1.12 percent, S-Oil jumped 1.64 percent, SK Innovation dropped 1.22 percent, POSCO shed 0.40 percent, SK Telecom lost 0.58 percent, KEPCO surrendered 1.88 percent, Hyundai Mobis dipped 0.47 percent and Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild consolidation again on Wednesday as the major averages shook off early support and finished slightly lower.

The Dow dropped 154.02 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 32,909.59, while the NASDAQ eased 0.27 points or 0.00 percent to close at 12,381.30 and the S&P 500 dipped 9.26 points or 0.22 percent to end at 4,128.73.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came as traders were cautious ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the central bank's annual Jackson Hole economic symposium later this week, which may provide clues about the bank's outlook for the economy and interest rates.

In economic news, Markit Economics said its manufacturing PMI slowed in August, while the services and composite PMIs contracted at an accelerated rate. Also, the Commerce Department said new home sales slumped in July to their lowest reading since January 2016.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday with traders weighing the prospects of OPEC and allies cutting output to support prices in the event of Iranian crude entering the market. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September jumped $3.38 or 3.7 percent at $93.74 a barrel.