The South Korea stock market on Wednesday ended the seven-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 70 points or 2.9. The KOSPI now sits just above the 3,170-point plateau although it figure to bounce higher again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive after a couple of days of weakness, although sinking crude oil prices may cap the upside. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow suit.
The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Wednesday with profit taking across the board - especially among the financials, industrials and technology stocks.
For the day, the index tumbled 49.04 points or 1.52 percent to finish at 3,171.66 after trading between 3,165.49 and 3,214.24. Volume was 1.7 billion shares worth 16.7 trillion won. There were 597 decliners and 277 gainers.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial sank 2.00 percent, while KB Financial skidded 1.32 percent, Hana Financial surrendered 1.77 percent, Samsung Electronics retreated 1.55 percent, LG Electronics plummeted 3.49 percent, SK Hynix plunged 4.33 percent, Naver tumbled 2.69 percent, LG Chem tanked 3.25 percent, Lotte Chemical was down 1.88 percent, S-Oil fell 2.03 percent, SK Innovation slid 1.68 percent, POSCO lost 1.27 percent, SK Telecom dropped 0.98 percent, KEPCO shed 1.44 percent, Hyundai Motor declined 1.53 percent and Kia Motors gave away 2.44 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages shook off early weakness on Wednesday and finished firmly in the green, snapping a two-day slide.
The Dow spiked 316.01 points or 0.93 percent to finish at 34,137.31, while the NASDAQ jumped 163.95 points or 1.19 percent to end at 13,950.22 and the S&P 500 climbed 38.48 points or 0.93 percent to close at 4,173.42.
Despite concerns about high valuations, traders have largely been reluctant to sell stocks amid worries about missing out on further upside.
Stocks linked to the economy reopening saw significant strength, while shares of Netflix (NFLX) moved sharply lower after the company reported much weaker than expected subscriber growth.
Crude oil futures declined sharply on Wednesday amid rising concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to rising coronavirus infections in India. Data showing an unexpected uptick in U.S. crude inventories also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June fell $1.32 or 2.1 percent at $61.35 a barrel, the lowest close since April 13.
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