Prior to the Independence Day holiday on Friday, the South Korean stock market displayed a negative trend, following up on a two-day decrease where it had fallen by over 40 points or 1.7%. Presently, the KOSPI sits just above the 2,640-point level, and it's predicted it will start positively on Monday.
Worldwide predictions for Asian markets are optimistic, with technological and oil firms expected to drive this positive sentiment. Following suit from the upturned European and U.S. markets, Asian markets are likely to open in a similar way.
On Thursday, modest declines were observed in the KOSPI due to losses from the technology and chemical sectors. However, support was received from the finance and automobile sectors. The index fell 9.93 points or 0.37 percent, ending at 2,642.36 with a trade range between 2,628.62 and 2,647.56. A total of 484 million shares worth 12.5 trillion won were traded. The number of decliners stood at 545 as against 341 gainers.
In active trading, Shinhan Financial went up by 1.52%, KB Financial by 1.93%, and Hana Financial by 1.80%. Samsung Electronics saw a slight rise of 0.27%, while Samsung SDI fell by 1.18%, and LG Electronics by 0.42%. SK Hynix fell by 1.14%, Naver by 4.41%, LG Chem by 1.48%, and Lotte Chemical by 3.70%. S-Oil and SK Telecom saw improvements of 0.79% and .038% respectively. Hyundai Motor rose by 1.01%, and Kia Motors surged by 5.78%.
The US Wall Street trends were positive; the significant indices started off flat on Friday but saw growth throughout the day, with NASDAQ and S&P reaching record closes. The Dow went up by 0.23% to end at 39,087.38, NASDAQ jumped by 1.14% to 16,274.94, and the S&P 500 rose by 0.80% to 5,137.08. For the week, NASDAQ hit a rise of 1.7%, the S&P 500 rose by 1.0%, while the Dow saw a marginal fall of 0.1%.
NASDAQ's strong performance was buoyed by computer hardware stocks performing well following Dell's (DELL) positive results.
Economic news revealed that US manufacturing activity shrank unexpectedly in February, according to the Institute for Supply Management. The University of Michigan also reported that consumer sentiment also saw a surprise decline in February. These weak figures resulted in a drop in treasury yields, spurring optimism about a potential cut in Federal Reserve interest rates.
Oil prices rose to a four-month high on Friday, driven by reports that oil demand in 2023 saw a four-year high and will continue to remain stable this year. The price of West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April saw a rise of 2.2% to end at $79.97 per barrel, which is the highest closing price since November 6, 2023.
South Korea will release January statistics for industrial production and retail sales later today. In December, industrial output grew by 0.6% monthly and 6.2% annually, while retail sales decreased by 0.8% monthly.
