Bargain Hunting May Boost South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, crashing more than 750 points or 11 percent in that span. The KOSPI now sits just above the 6,515-point plateau although it's likely to see at least a technical rebound on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the major averages is soft on concerns over the outlook for interest rates and on the continuing conflict in the Middle East. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Monday with damage in all sectors, especially among the technology and financial shares.

For the day, the index tumbled 304.33 points or 4.46 percent to finish at 6,516.27 after sinking as low as 6,472.80. Volume was 339.5 million shares worth 28.4 trillion won. There were 796 decliners and 97 gainers.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened higher on Monday but gradually sank into the red as the day progressed, ending at session lows.

The Dow tumbled 307.16 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 51,839.26, while the NASDAQ dipped 12.17 points or 0.05 percent to close at 25,508.07 and the S&P 500 eased 14.41 points or 0.19 percent to end at 7,443.28.

The early strength on Wall Street came as traders looked up to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels following the notable pullback seen over the two previous sessions.

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as concerns the escalating conflict between the U.S. and Iran led to a surge by treasury yields and worries about the outlook for interest rates.

In U.S. economic news, the Conference Board released a report showing a modest decline by its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators in June.

Crude oil prices edged higher on Monday as the U.S. and Iran continue to attack each other even as both sides appear ready to renew diplomatic efforts to halt the conflict. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was up $0.39 or 0.47 percent at $82.88 per barrel.