On Friday, the South Korean stock market broke its three-day winning streak, a stretch which had seen it gain about 60 points or 2.2 percent, pushing it to a 22-month closing high. The KOSPI index currently stands just above 2,665 points, suggesting potential adverse consequences ahead.
A sense of caution is forecasted globally for Asian markets in anticipation of the upcoming FOMC meeting this week. European markets were essentially flat with a mix of highs and lows, while U.S. indices recorded a drop. Asian markets are expected to follow suit.
On Friday's trading day, the KOSPI ended significantly lower. This downturn was largely led by losses from the financial, technology, and industrial sectors. The index dropped by 51.92 points or 1.91 percent, closing at its lowest point for the day at 2,666.84 points, after reaching a high of 2,705.59 points. The total volume of shares traded was 575 million, valued at 12.9 trillion won. There were more shares falling in price, with 557 decliners compared to 224 gainers.
Looking at individual performers, Shinhan Financial dropped 3.69 percent, KB Financial decreased by 3.05 percent, Hana Financial fell by 3.87 percent, and Samsung Electronics fell by 2.69 percent. Furthermore, Samsung SDI fell 4.71 percent, LG Electronics by 0.40 percent, SK Hynix by 0.43 percent, Naver by 0.37 percent, LG Chem by 4.34 percent, and Lotte Chemical by 0.57 percent. There were also declines in SK Innovation, POSCO, SK Telecom, Hyundai Motor, and Kia Motors. However, S-Oil, KEPCO and Hyundai Mobis saw increases in their stock prices.
Major indices on Wall Street opened lower on Friday and remained in the negative zone throughout the day. Traders demonstrated concerns regarding the future of interest rates, awaiting the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting later this week. Given the recent higher-than-expected inflation rates, optimism surrounding an initial rate cut by the Fed in June has been somewhat dampened.
In other economic news, the U.S. Labor Department reported a rise in import prices consistent with expectations for February, while export prices surpassed predictions. A slight increase in U.S. industrial production was also noted by the Federal Reserve last month.
After benefitting from recent highs, oil prices fell on Friday. This change was primarily due to traders taking profits, with West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April closing $0.22 lower at $81.04 a barrel.
