South Korea Stock Market Tipped To Bounce Higher On Friday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Thursday ended the two-day winning streak in which hit had advanced almost 50 points or 1.9 percent. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,730-point plateau although it's expected to find renewed support on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher on continued upward momentum following heavy selling earlier this month. The European markets were slightly lower and the U.S. bourses were sharply higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the technology stocks, gains from the financials and oil companies and a mixed picture from the industrials.

For the day, the index dipped 5.39 points or 0.20 percent to finish at the daily high of 2,729.66 after moving as low as 2,705.14. Volume was 927.75 million shares worth 11.48 trillion won. There were 479 gainers and 361 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial rose 0.25 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.49 percent, Hana Financial improved 0.81 percent, Samsung Electronics dropped 0.99 percent, LG Electronics declined 1.63 percent, SK Hynix tanked 2.43 percent, Naver strengthened 1.59 percent, LG Chem soared 4.53 percent, Lotte Chemical slumped 1.69 percent, S-Oil climbed 1.34 percent, SK Innovation added 0.48 percent, POSCO sank 0.82 percent, SK Telecom retreated 1.38 percent, KEPCO dipped 0.22 percent, Kia Motors increased 0.42 percent and Hyundai Motor was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher and picked up steam as the day progressed, erasing losses from the previous session.

The Dow spiked 349.44 points or 1.02 percent to finish at 34,707.94, while the NASDAQ jumped 269.23 points or 1.93 percent to end at 14,191.84 and the S&P 500 climbed 63.92 points or 1.43 percent to close at 4,520.16.

The support om Wall Street came as express some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues.

Traders also kept an eye on developments out of Europe, where President Joe Biden is meeting with U.S. allies in Brussels. The Biden administration has imposed additional sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, targeting dozens of Russian defense companies, 328 members of the Russian State Duma, and the head of Russia's largest financial institution.

In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in over 50 years in the week ended March 19. Also, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods tumbled more than expected in February

Crude oil prices showed a notable move to the downside on Thursday after Iran hinted it may be close to getting a new nuclear deal with the U.S. via negotiations in Europe. West Texas Intermediate Crude for May delivery tumbled $2.59 or 2.3 percent to $112.34 a barrel.