The South Korea stock market has advanced for three consecutive sessions, gaining nearly 35 points or 1.2% during this period. The KOSPI now stands just above the 2,890-point level, although the rally may face resistance on Friday.
Global forecasts for the Asian markets suggest profit-taking, especially within the technology sectors. While European markets showed gains, U.S. bourses closed lower, and Asian markets are expected to follow the latter trend.
On Thursday, the KOSPI finished modestly higher, supported by gains in financial shares, technology stocks, and industrials. The index climbed 23.36 points, or 0.81%, to close at 2,891.35. Trading volume was robust, with 453 million shares exchanged, valued at 14.4 trillion won. There were 438 gainers compared to 414 decliners.
Among the most active stocks, Shinhan Financial jumped 1.96%, while KB Financial and SK Telecom both rallied 2.15%. Hana Financial rose 0.49%. In the technology sector, Samsung Electronics slipped 0.23%, but Samsung SDI surged 4.42%. LG Electronics gained 0.63%, and SK Hynix advanced 0.84%. Naver declined 0.79%.
In the chemicals and energy sectors, LG Chem soared 2.95%, Lotte Chemical strengthened 1.32%, and S-Oil added 0.60%. Conversely, SK Innovation dropped 1.11%. Metals giant POSCO skyrocketed 6.24%, while KEPCO increased 0.81%. Automotive stocks also showed strength: Hyundai Mobis improved 0.86%, Hyundai Motor climbed 1.46%, and Kia Motors rose 0.25%.
Wall Street’s lead was mostly negative on Thursday as major U.S. averages opened lower. The Dow inched slightly into positive territory, while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ retreated from record highs. The Dow rose by 32.39 points (0.08%) to finish at 39,753.75. However, the NASDAQ plunged 364.04 points (1.95%) to close at 18,283.41, and the S&P 500 fell 49.37 points (0.88%) to end at 5,584.54.
Early optimism regarding interest rate prospects helped Wall Street open strong, but enthusiasm waned as traders appeared to have already priced in a rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September. The subsequent sell-off resulted from investors taking profits after recent market advances, notably in leading tech stocks such as AI favorite Nvidia (NVDA), which led the retreat.
Despite the pullback, the Federal Reserve is still widely expected to lower interest rates in September. This outlook was reinforced by a Labor Department report indicating that prices in the U.S. unexpectedly edged slightly lower in June.
Oil futures settled higher on Thursday, buoyed by hopes for an interest rate cut following the encouraging inflation data. However, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures for August ended down $0.52 at $82.62 per barrel.
*The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Nasdaq, Inc.*
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/kospi-may-run-out-steam-friday
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