The South Korea stock market ticked higher again on Friday, one day after snapping the five-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 60 points or 1.9 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 3,265-point plateau although it's expected to open under pressure again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian is soft on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower on Friday and the Asian markets are tipped to follow suit.
The KOSPI finished barely higher on Friday following mixed performances from the technology stocks and automobile producers, while the financials were soft.
For the day, the index added 2.97 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 3,267.93 after trading between 3,262.58 and 3,275.76. Volume was 1.6 billion shares worth 17.1 trillion won. There were 464 decliners and 382 gainers.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial skidded 1.32 percent, while KB Financial eased 0.18 percent, Hana Financial tumbled 1.52 percent, Samsung Electronics shed 0.49 percent, LG Electronics jumped 1.62 percent, SK Hynix declined 1.58 percent, Samsung SDI soared 3.69 percent, Naver rallied 2.18 percent, LG Chem retreated 1.56 percent, Lotte Chemical dropped 1.62 percent, S-Oil plunged 3.85 percent, SK Innovation sank 1.60 percent, POSCO fell 0.29 percent, SK Telecom slid 0.31 percent, Hyundai Motor lost 0.63 percent, Kia Motors climbed 1.03 percent and KEPCO was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is decidedly negative as stocks opened lower on Friday and remained in the red throughout the session.
The Dow plunged 533.37 points or 1.58 percent to finish at 33,290.08, while the NASDAQ dropped 130.97 points or 0.92 percent to end at 14,030.38 and the S&P 500 sank 55.41 points or 1.31 percent to close at 4,166.45.
For the week, the Dow plunged 3.4 percent, the NASDAQ dipped 0.3 percent and the S&P fell 1.9 percent.
Concerns about the outlook for monetary policy continued to weigh on the markets following the recent Federal Reserve's announcement. The Fed's forecast for two interest rates hikes in 2023 has led to speculation that the central bank will soon start tapering its asset purchases.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Friday amid optimism about energy demand in the U.S. thanks to reopening of businesses after lockdowns. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July rose $0.60 or 0.8 percent at $71.64 a barrel. WTI Crude oil futures gained 1 percent in the week.
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