(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Friday, one day after snapping the three-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 430 points or 7.8 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 5,780-point plateau although it may see renewed consolidation on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak on soaring crude oil prices and pessimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the automobile producers and technology stocks, while the chemicals were up and the financial shares were mixed.
For the day, the index rose 17.98 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 5,781.20 after trading between 5,764.64 and 5,833.68. Volume was 1.46 billion shares worth 31 trillion won. There were 742 gainers and 158 decliners.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 1.45 percent, while KB Financial fell 0.32 percent, Samsung Electronics shed 0.55 percent, Samsung SDI slipped 0.50 percent, LG Electronics vaulted 1.46 percent, SK Hynix lost 0.59 percent, Naver added 0.45 percent, LG Chem rallied 2.14 percent, Lotte Chemical spiked 2.18 percent, SK Innovation soared 3.26 percent, POSCO Holdings jumped 1.63 percent, SK Telecom improved 0.77 percent, KEPCO accelerated 1.76 percent, Hyundai Mobis plunged 3.03 percent, Hyundai Motor dropped 0.96 percent, Kia Motors skidded 1.17 percent and Hana Financial was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened in the red on Friday and continued to weaken as the day progressed, ending near session lows.
The Dow tumbled 443.96 points or 0.96 percent to finish at 45,577.47, while the NASDAQ plunged 443.08 points or 2.01 percent to close at 21,647.61 and the S&P 500 sank 100.01 points or 1.51 percent to end at 6,506.48. For the week, the Dow and NASDAQ both plunged 2.1 percent and the S&P lost 1.9 percent.
The sell-off on Wall Street came amid continued volatility by the price of crude oil, which has been a key driver of trading in recent sessions and showed wild swings over the course of the day.
Crude oil prices surged on Friday as fresh attacks on Kuwait by Iran renewed concerns of a prolonged gulf war, stoking production disruption worries. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up by $1.68 or 1.75 percent at $97.82 per barrel.
Oil prices remain sharply higher compared to when the war began, fueling concerns about the outlook for inflation and interest rates. CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicates the Federal Reserve is not likely to cut interest rates this year and there's a chance rates could even be higher by the end of the year.
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