Continued Consolidation Called For KOSPI

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished lower in back-to-back sessions, retreating more than 120 points or 2.2 percent in that span. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 5,490-point plateau and it's likely to start under water again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on continuing concerns over the war in the Middle East and the resulting surge in oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow to the downside.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks, chemicals and industrials.

For the day, the index tumbled 96.01 points or 1.72 percent to finish at 5,487.24 after trading between 5,392.52 and 5,537.59. Volume was 893.6 billion shares worth 22.9 trillion won. There were 552 decliners and 336 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial slumped 1.20 percent, while KB Financial eased 0.20 percent, Hana Financial tumbled 3.20 percent, Samsung Electronics tanked 2.34 percent, Samsung SDI contracted 3.00 percent, LG Electronics sank 0.79 percent, SK Hynix stumbled 2.15 percent, Naver added 0.45 percent, LG Chem surrendered 2.78 percent, Lotte Chemical plunged 4.32 percent, SK Innovation plummeted 7.48 percent, S-Oil crashed 8.47 percent, POSCO Holdings retreated 3.02 percent, SK Telecom declined 1.57 percent, KEPCO jumped 1.47 percent, Hyundai Mobis skidded 2.53 percent, Hyundai Motor dropped 0.77 percent and Kia Motors cratered 1.62 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened higher on Friday but turned lower as the day progressed, slipping into the red and finishing at session lows.

The Dow dropped 119.43 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 46,558.47, while the NASDAQ tumbled 206.64 points or 0.93 percent to close at 22,105.36 and the S&P 500 sank 40.43 points or 0.61 percent to end at 6,632.19. For the week, the Dow plunged 2.0 percent, the S&P dropped 1.6 percent and the NASDAQ slumped 1.3 percent.

The pullback seen over the course of the session came as trading continued to be largely driven by reaction to crude oil prices.

Stocks initially benefited from a pullback by the price of crude oil, with crude for April delivery plunging by as much as 3.9 percent after skyrocketing over the course of the two previous sessions.

Crude oil prices again showed a substantial move to the upside on Friday as uncertainty prevails about the timeline for ending the war. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was up $3.35 or 3.50 percent at $98.08 per barrel.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said the annual rate of consumer price growth unexpectedly slowed in January. A separate report from the Commerce Department showed U.S. economic growth slowed much more than estimated in the fourth quarter of 2025.