The South Korea stock market turned barely higher again on Thursday, one session after it had ended the three-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 35 points or 1.3 percent. The KOSPI remains just above the 2,515-point plateau although it may tick lower on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, thanks to concerns over a U.S. government shutdown and a fall in crude oil prices. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The KOSPI finished barely higher on Thursday as gains from the technology stocks were offset by weakness from the financials and automobile producers.
For the day, the index added 0.38 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 2,515.81 after trading between 2,512.69 and 2,532.08. Volume was 329 million shares worth 4.7 trillion won. There were 473 gainers and 346 decliners.
Among the actives, Samsung Electronics added 0.56 percent, while LG Electronics plunged 2.71 percent, SK hynix climbed 1.48 percent, Hyundai Steel added 0.34 percent, POSCO eased 0.13 percent, Hyundai Heavy gained 0.37 percent, Daewoo Shipbuilding dropped 1.10 percent, Hyundai Motor skidded 1.59 percent, Kia Motors shed 0.46 percent, Shinhan Financial plummeted 3.04 percent and Woori Bank tumbled 1.79 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks gave ground on Thursday as the major averages eased from Wednesday's record closing highs.
The Dow shed 97.84 points or 0.37 percent to 26,017.81, while the NASDAQ lost 2.23 points or 0.03 percent to 7,296.05 and the S&P 500 fell 4.53 points or 0.16 percent to 2,798.03.
The weakness on Wall Street was partly attributed to concerns about a potential government shutdown, with a deadline to pass a spending bill looming today.
Profit taking may also have contributed to the pullback by stocks, with some traders cashing on the recent run to record highs.
In economic news, the Commerce Department noted a steep drop in new residential construction in December, while the Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits pulled back to lowest level in nearly 45 years in the week ended January 13th.
Crude oil prices were flat Thursday amid speculation the fossil fuel is overbought near three-year highs. After cold weather interruptions, U.S. crude production rose 258,000 barrels per day to 9.75 million bpd last week. February WTI oil was down 2 cents to $63.95/bbl on Nymex.
by RTT Staff Writer
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