Over the past five trading days, South Korea's stock market has alternated between gains and losses, following the conclusion of a four-day losing streak, during which the market had lost nearly 125 points or 4.6 percent. Currently, the KOSPI resides just above the 2,675-point mark, and the trend is expected to continue oscillating within the same range this Thursday.
The global outlook for Asian markets indicates stagnancy, stirred by apprehensions over interest rate forecasts. While the European markets recorded negligible losses, the U.S. markets displayed mixed performance, setting the stage for a fairly balanced reaction from Asian counterparts.
On Wednesday, the KOSPI closed significantly higher, bolstered by the rise in technology, chemical, and automobile stocks. However, financial sectors were affected by profit booking. The index rose by 52.73 points or 2.01 percent, ending at 2,675.75, with a traded volume of 319 million shares valued at 10.06 trillion won. Out of 880 listed companies, 610 registered increases while 270 reported declines.
Major players such as Shinhan Financial, KB Financial, and Hana Financial saw their shares drop by 1.37 percent, 1.85 percent, and 1.91 percent respectively. On the other hand, Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDI, and SK Hynix's shares climbed, registering gains of 4.11 percent, 3.69 percent, and 5.15 percent, respectively.
Wall Street failed to provide a clear direction, with opening and closing numbers showing minimal fluctuation. The Dow Jones fell slightly, losing 42.77 points or 0.11 percent to close at 38,460.92, while the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 rose marginally, as corporate earnings reports from Tesla (TSLA), Texas Instruments (TXN), Visa (V) and Mattel (MAT) contained the potential downtrend.
However, continued concerns over the future course of interest rates, especially ahead of the Federal Reserve's upcoming meeting, dampened enthusiasm. Even though no changes in interest rates are expected currently, market participants will be closely analyzing any indications of future rate alterations.
Oil prices decreased on Wednesday due to worries over the outlook for demand and declining tensions in the Middle East. The West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June dropped by $0.55, ending at $82.81 per barrel.
In line with local events, South Korea is set to announce preliminary figures for the Q1 gross domestic product. The GDP is projected to rise 0.6 percent quarterly and 2.4 percent annually, maintaining the pace set in the previous quarter.
