KOSPI May Erase Thursday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Thursday ended the four-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 640 points or 11.7 percent. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 5,780-point plateau although it may bounce higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets comes on cautious optimism for easing hostilities in the Middle East. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers, while the chemicals offered support.

For the day, the index tumbled 94.33 points or 1.61 percent to finish at 5,778.01. Volume was 1 billion shares worth 29.4 trillion won. There were 509 decliners and 356 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial eased 0.10 percent, while KB Financial slumped 1.15 percent, Samsung Electronics tumbled 3.09 percent, Samsung SDI jumped 1.80 percent, LG Electronics added 0.43 percent, SK Hynix tanked 3.39 percent, LG Chem spiked 3.05 percent, Lotte Chemical surged 5.57 percent, SK Innovation rallied 2.00 percent, POSCO Holdings climbed 1.24 percent, SK Telecom soared 5.39 percent, KEPCO skidded 1.14 percent, Hyundai Mobis retreated 1.35 percent, Hyundai Motor crashed 3.64 percent, Kia Motors plunged 3.64 percent and Hana Financial and Naver were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages shook off early weakness on Thursday to climb solidly up into the green by midday.

The Dow jumped 275.88 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 48,185.80, while the NASDAQ rallied 187.42 points or 0.83 percent to end at 22,822.42 and the S&P 500 gained 41.85 points or 0.62 percent to close at 6,824.66.

The early weakness came amid concerns about the fragility of the ceasefire in the Middle East, with Iran accusing the U.S. and Israel of violating the agreement.

Iran's deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh claimed in an interview with the BBC that Iran had once again closed the Strait of Hormuz.

However, stocks rebounded after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would begin negotiating with Lebanon "as soon as possible."

Crude oil prices soared on Thursday as Iran allowed only restricted naval traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, renewing supply disruption concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up $3.25 or 3.44 percent at $97.66 per barrel.

Closer to home, the Bank of Korea will wrap up its monetary policy meeting this morning and then announce its decision on interest rates; the BoK is expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 2.50 percent.