KOSPI Due For Profit Taking On Friday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, advancing more than 580 points or 8.4 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 7,100-point plateau although investors figure to lock in gains on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on tech weakness, surging oil prices and Middle East tensions. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian bourses also figure to open in the red.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the technology and industrial companies, while the financial shares were soft.

For the day, the index spiked 299.19 points or 4.40 percent to finish at 7,096.89. Volume was 392.3 million shares worth 26.7 trillion won. There were 829 gainers and 73 decliners.

The lead from Wall Street is bleak as the major averages opened sharply lower and stayed that way throughout the trading day.

The Dow tumbled 506.93 points or 0.97 percent to finish at 51,711.65, while the NASDAQ plummeted 553.21 points or 2.15 percent to close at 25,137.69 and the S&P 500 sank 90.66 points or 1.21 percent to end at 7,408.30.

The sell-off on Wall Street reflected a negative reaction to earnings news from tech giants Tesla (TSLA) and Alphabet (GOOGL).

Crude oil prices surged again on Thursday amid concerns of a wider conflict in the Middle East set off by new attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen on two Saudi Arabian tankers in the Red Sea. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was up $5.76 or 6.63 percent at $92.59 per barrel.

The continued spike by the price of crude oil has added to recent concerns about the outlook for inflation and the possibility of higher interest rates.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly decreased last week.