Tech Shares May Weigh On South Korea Bourse

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, sinking more than 40 points or 1.4 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,765-point plateau and it may spin its wheels again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed, with continued profit taking among technology stocks likely to cap any upside. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the technology and energy companies, while the financials and automobile producers offered support.

For the day, the index shed 19.53 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 2,764.73. Volume was 580.2 million shares worth 10.8 trillion won. There were 637 decliners and 233 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.84 percent, while KB Financial jumped 1.78 percent, Samsung Electronics added 0.75 percent, Samsung SDI surrendered 2.96 percent, LG Electronics strengthened 1.75 percent, SK Hynix plunged 4.70 percent, Naver improved 0.78 percent, LG Chem perked 0.14 percent, S-Oil tumbled 1.77 percent, SK Innovation plunged 5.00 percent, POSCO eased 0.14 percent, SK Telecom rose 0.38 percent, KEPCO and Hyundai Motor both gained 0.36 percent, Hyundai Mobis gathered 0.21 percent, Kia Motors was up 0.31 percent and Hana Financial and Lotte Chemical were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street continues to be a dichotomy as the major averages opened mixed and finished the same way, with only the Dow finishing in the green.

The Dow rallied 260.88 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 39,411.21, while the NASDAQ tumbled 192.54 points or 1.09 percent to close at 17,496.82 and the S&P 500 fell 16.75 points or 0.31 percent to end at 5,447.87.

The weakness on Wall Street came as technology stocks dragged the markets lower, with Nvidia Corporation, Dell Technologies and QualComm all plummeting on profit taking.

Traders also were looking ahead to Friday's Commerce Department's report on personal income and spending in May, which includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.

Oil prices gained Monday on optimism about the outlook for demand and likely supply disruptions due to tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August rose $0.90 or 1.1 percent at $81.63 a barrel.