(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Thursday, one session after snapping the seven-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 70 points or 2.9 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 3,175-point plateau although it may head south again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns over tax rates in the United States. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financials and oil and chemical companies, while the technology shares were mixed.
For the day, the index added 5.86 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 3,177.52 after trading between 3,174.52 and 3,196.83. Volume was 1.7 billion shares worth 14.6 trillion won. There were 467 gainers and 383 decliners.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial climbed 1.22 percent, while KB Financial rallied 2.10 percent, Hana Financial collected 1.08 percent, Samsung Electronics fell 0.24 percent, LG Electronics retreated 1.51 percent, SK Hynix added 0.38 percent, Samsung SDI was up 0.15 percent, LG Chem advanced 0.81 percent, Lotte Chemical soared 3.49 percent, S-Oil jumped 1.68 percent, SK Innovation increased 0.19 percent, POSCO perked 0.57 percent, SK Telecom spiked 2.81 percent, KEPCO improved 0.84 percent, Hyundai Motor rose 0.22 percent, Kia Motors sank 0.48 percent and Naver was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages showed little movement early on Thursday but headed due south in the afternoon to finish firmly in the red.
The Dow tumbled 321.41 points or 0.94 percent to finish at 33,815.90, while the NASDAQ skidded 131.81 points or 0.94 percent to end at 13,818.41 and the S&P 500 sank 38.44 points or 0.92 percent to close at 4,134.98.
The afternoon sell-off came following reports that President Joe Biden plans to propose nearly doubling the capital gains tax rate for wealthy individuals to fund spending on childcare and education.
Earlier in the day, traders saw a Labor Department report unexpectedly show a continued decline in initial jobless claims last week. Also, the National Association of Realtors noted another steep drop in U.S. existing home sales in March.
Crude oil futures rebounded from early losses to settle slightly higher on Thursday, gaining for the first time in three sessions as worries about the energy demand outlook weighed on oil prices early in the day. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended up by $0.08 or 0.1 percent at $61.43 a barrel.
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