Tech Shares May Continue To Weigh On KOSPI

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market turned lower again on Wednesday, one day after ending the two-day slide in which it had given up more than 530 points or 6.5 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 8,300-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak on concerns over the outlook for interest rates due to rising inflation. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are likely to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Wednesday following heavy losses among the technology companies.

For the day, the index tumbled 173.07 points or 2.04 percent to finish at 8,303.41. Volume was 396.59 million shares worth 67.84 trillion won. There were 699 gainers and 191 decliners.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major U.S. averages were higher for much of Wednesday's trade but a late slump saw them finish under water.

The Dow dipped 13.96 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 52,305.24, coming off a record closing high. The NASDAQ sank 173.69 points or 0.66 percent to close at 26.040.03 and the S&) 500 fell 16.13 points or 0.22 percent to end at 7,483.23.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street was the result of ongoing concerns that the AI companies and chipmakers may be overbought - which had the biggest effect on the tech-heavy NASDAQ.

Traders also kept an eye out for developments in the Middle East, with concrete details regarding the end of the war remaining elusive.

In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday showed a modest decrease by its reading on U.S. manufacturing activity in the month of June.

Crude oil prices tumbled again on Wednesday amid gradual recovery in tanker traffic across the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was down $1.12 or 1.61 percent at $68.38 per barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will see June figures for consumer prices later today; in May, overall inflation was up 0.5 percent on month and 3.1 percent on year.