The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Friday, one session after it had ended the four-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 60 points or 2.4 percent. The KOSPI now rests just shy of the 2,500-point plateau and it gets another green light for Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, despite weaker than expected jobs data from the U.S. and a drop in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were higher on Friday and the Asian markets figure to at least open in similar fashion.
The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the financials hares, technology stocks and automobile producers.
For the day, the index soared 31.06 points or 1.26 percent to finish at the daily high of 2,497.52 after moving as low as 2,475.51. Volume was 305 million shares worth 6.2 trillion won. There were 493 gainers and 297 decliners.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 1.42 percent, while Woori Bank advanced 0.64 percent, Samsung Electronics soared 2.04 percent, SK hynix spiked 2.85 percent, KB Financial jumped 1.75 percent, Samsung Life added 0.83 percent, Hyundai Motor perked 1.71 percent, Kia Motors climbed 1.27 percent, POSCO gained 0.14 percent, Hyundai Steel tumbled 2.06 percent, Daewoo Shipbuilding was up 0.30 percent and Hyundai Heavy skidded 1.20 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as stocks extended a recent upward move on Friday as the major averages closed higher for the fourth straight session and again hit record closing highs.
The Dow gained 220.74 points or 0.88 percent to 25,295.87, while the NASDAQ climbed 58.64 points or 0.83 percent to 7,136.56 and the S&P rose 19.16 points or 0.70 percent to 2,743.15. For the week, the Dow added 2.3 percent, the NASDAQ soared 3.4 percent and the S&P jumped 2.6 percent.
The continued strength came even though the Labor Department noted weaker than expected job growth in December. Traders largely shrugged off the report, as analysts suggested that recent data points to overall strength in the labor market.
In other economic news, the Institute for Supply Management reported an unexpected slowdown in service sector activity in November. The Commerce Department noted the widest trade deficit in nearly six years in November, and factory orders jumped more than expected during the month.
Oil prices fell on Friday, slipping from highs last seen in 2015 thanks to soaring U.S. production. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 57 cents to $61.44 a barrel.
by RTT Staff Writer
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