Tech Shares May Drag KOSPI Lower Again On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, sinking more than 30 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,500-point plateau and it may see continued selling pressure on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild consolidation on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were slightly soft and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Wednesday as losses from the technology and automobile companies were mitigated by support from the financial and telecom sectors.

For the day, the index lost 17.30 points or 0.69 percent to finish at 2,503.06. Volume was 406.3 million shares worth 8.4 trillion won. There were 516 decliners and 372 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial strengthened 1.47 percent, while KB Financial rallied 2.81 percent, Hana Financial spiked 2.90 percent, Samsung Electronics tumbled 3.43 percent, Samsung SDI stumbled 3.77 percent, LG Electronics retreated 2.54 percent, SK Hynix plummeted 4.97 percent, Naver soared 3.78 percent, LG Chem declined 1.95 percent, Lotte Chemical shed 0.60 percent, SK Innovation and S-Oil both surrendered 2.86 percent, POSCO dropped 1.65 percent, SK Telecom surged 4.63 percent, KEPCO lost 0.41 percent, Hyundai Mobis slumped 1.20 percent, Hyundai Motor skidded 1.12 percent and Kia Motors plunged 3.08 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened mixed on Wednesday but all trended lower as the day progressed and ended in the red.

The Dow dropped 138.25 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 44,722.06, while the NASDAQ slumped 115.10 points or 0.60 percent to close at 19,060.48 and the S&P 500 sank 22.89 points or 0.38 percent to end at 5,998.74.

The pullback by the NASDAQ was fueled by substantial weakness among computer hardware stocks, led lower by PC makers Dell Technologies (DELL) and HP Inc. (HPQ) after providing disappointing earnings guidance.

Weakness among semiconductor and networking stocks also weighed on the NASDAQ, while biotechnology stocks showed a strong move to the upside.

The weakness in the broader markets came after the Commerce Department released closely watched inflation data that matched expectations. While the faster annual price growth was in line with estimates, the acceleration raised concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

Crude oil moved slightly lower on Wednesday as traders weighed news of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah against data showing a bigger than expected drop by U.S. crude oil inventories. West Texas Intermediate for January delivery eased $0.05 or 0.1 percent to $68.72 a barrel.

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