Bargain Hunting Anticipated For South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished lower in three straight session, crashing more than 1,300 points or 15 percent in that span. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 7,500-point plateau although it may find traction on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on bargain hunting, with support expected especially among the technology and oil sectors. The European markets were soft and the U.S. bourse were mostly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead. The KOSPI finished with huge losses on Monday with damage in all sections, especially the technology shares. For the day, the index plummeted 676.18 points or 8.29 percent to finish at 7,484.41 after trading between 7,442.73 and 8,048.09. Volume was 448.3 million shares worth 47.8 trillion won. There were 873 decliners and 42 gainers. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial retreated 9.67 percent, while KB Financial plummeted 11.71 percent, Hana Financial slumped 9.06 percent, Samsung Electronics plunged 10.18 percent, Samsung SDI dropped 11.55 percent, LG Electronics tanked 11.55 percent, SK Hynix tumbled 7.68 percent, Naver surged 9.20 percent, LG Chem declined 7.40 percent, Lotte Chemical shed 5.16 percent, SK Innovation contracted 8.96 percent, POSCO Holdings sank 7.95 percent, SK Telecom added 0.28 percent, KEPCO lost 5.51 percent, Hyundai Mobis cratered 12.20 percent, Hyundai Motor stumbled 8.71 percent and Kia Motors crashed 6.02 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened higher on Monday but faded as the day progressed, with the Dow slipping into the red.

The Dow shed 80.77 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 50,786.01, while the NASDAQ jumped 220.23 points or 0.86 percent to close at 25,929.66 and the S&P 500 added 21.99 points or 0.30 percent to end at 7,405.73.

The rebound on Wall Street comes amid bargain hunting following last Friday's plunge, which dragged the tech-heavy NASDAQ down to its lowest closing level in a month.

The upside may be limited by growing concerns about the outlook for interest rates, as last week's robust U.S. jobs report led traders to ramp up bets on a Federal Reserve rate hike this year.

Crude oil prices edged higher on Monday as delays in the reopening the Strait of Hormuz persists. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was up $0.52 or 0.57 percent at $91.06 per barrel. Closer to home, South Korea will on Tuesday release Q2 figures for gross domestic product later this morning; GDP is expected to rise 1.7 percent on quarter and 3.6 percent on year after slipping 0.2 percent on quarter and adding 1.6 percent on year in the previous three months.