KOSPI May Hand Back Friday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Friday, one day after ending 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 5,860-point plateau although it may turn lower again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft thanks to renewed tensions in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were mixed to lower and the Asian bourses are also expected to open under pressure.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares and technology stocks, while the chemicals and industrial were mixed.

For the day, the index jumped 80.86 points or 1.40 percent to finish at 5,858.87 after trading between 5,850.83 and 5,918.59. Volume was 989.96 million shares worth 23.43 trillion won. There were 716 gainers and 163 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial vaulted 2.17 percent, while KB Financial collected 2.66 percent, Hana Financial jumped 2.05 percent, Samsung Electronics advanced 0.98 percent, Samsung SDI perked 0.21 percent, LG Electronics climbed 1.02 percent, SK Hynix rallied 2.91 percent, Naver and Hyundai Mobis both rose 0.25 percent, LG Chem added 0.28 percent, Lotte Chemical plunged 4.55 percent, SK Innovation slumped 1.29 percent, POSCO Holdings gained 0.54 percent, SK Telecom dropped 0.85 percent, Kia Motors skidded 1.00 percent and KEPCO and Hyundai Motor were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Friday and largely hugged the line throughout the trading day before ending little changed and on opposite sides.

The Dow dropped 269.23 points or 0.56 percent to finish at 47,916.57, while the NASDAQ gained 80.49 points or 0.35 percent to close at 22,902.89 and the S&P 500 slipped 7.77 points or 0.11 percent to end at 6,816.89.

For the week, the NASDAQ spiked 4.7 percent, the S&P rallied 3.6 percent and the Dow jumped 3.0 percent.

The lackluster performance by the broader markets came amid lingering about whether the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East will hold; peace negotiations over the weekend also failed to produce a result.

In economic news, the University of Michigan noted a significant deterioration in U.S. consumer sentiment in April. Also, the Labor Department showed consumer prices advanced by 0.9 percent in March, in line with estimates.

Crude oil prices slumped Friday despite persistent tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was down $1.15 or 1.18 percent at $96.72 per barrel.