Steady Start Seen For South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Friday snapped the two-day slide in which it had plummeted more than 820 points or 9.9 percent. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 8,090-point plateau and it may tick higher again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to higher on easing Middle East tensions and hopes that the Federal Reserve will not tighten its monetary policy for now. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were closed for Independence Day, and the Asian markets are expected to tick higher as well.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Friday following bargain hunting among the technology stocks and ship makers, while the financials and industrials also were up.

For the day, the index rallied 440.25 points or 5.76 percent to finish at 8,088.34 after trading between 7,378.10 and 8,136.28. Volume was 462.48 million shares worth 45.23 trillion won. There were 587 gainers and 296 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial vaulted 4.99 percent, while KB Financial collected 3.09 percent, Hana Financial expanded 3.97 percent, Samsung Electronics surged 8.22 percent, Samsung SDI sank 0.64 percent, LG Electronics fell 0.29 percent, SK Hynix skyrocketed 10.88 percent, Naver tumbled 2.05 percent, LG Chem shed 0.67 percent, SK Innovation climbed 1.25 percent, POSCO Holdings added 0.79 percent, SK Telecom slumped 1.14 percent, KEPCO rose 0.26 percent, Hyundai Mobis gained 0.41 percent, Hyundai Motor advanced 0.94 percent, Kia Motors soared 4.68 percent and Lotte Chemical was unchanged.

There is no lead from Wall Street, but the major European markets saw modest gains thanks to easing Middle East tensions.

The UK's FTSE 100 gained 0.25%, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 moved up 0.78% and 0.39%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI closed 0.5% up.

Germany's DAX hit a new all-time high, while France's CAC 40 climbed to its best levels since February 2026.

Disappointing U.S. employment data also gave the markets a lift as it fueled hopes that the Federal Reserve may not tighten its monetary policy in the near future.

Oil prices held steady on Friday but headed for their fourth straight weekly loss on eased concerns over supply disruptions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery edged up 0.2 percent to $68.84 per barrel.