The South Korean stock market experienced another downturn on Tuesday, reversing the brief upward trend seen on Monday. The KOSPI Index, having recently ended a four-day losing streak during which it saw a decline of over 55 points or about 2.1 percent, now hovers just below the 2,725-point mark. Market indications suggest it is likely to remain rangebound on Wednesday.
Global predictions for Asian markets are mixed, largely flat ahead of the upcoming economic data releases and continued uncertainty surrounding interest rate trends. European markets closed lower, while U.S. markets showed mixed outcomes, suggesting that Asian markets might display a similar split.
On Tuesday, the KOSPI dipped slightly, with losses recorded in the chemicals and automobile sectors, while financial and technology stocks showed mixed results. The index closed down by 0.14 points, or 0.01 percent, to finish at 2,722.85, with 432 million shares traded worth 11.3 trillion won. Among the listed stocks, 467 declined, and 401 advanced.
Key performance data from active stocks included: Shinhan Financial and Hana Financial both fell by 0.96 percent, whereas KB Financial increased by 1.05 percent. Samsung Electronics rose by 0.52 percent, while Samsung SDI dropped sharply by 2.53 percent. LG Electronics saw a dramatic surge of 13.38 percent. In contrast, SK Hynix added a modest 0.50 percent; Naver decreased by 0.89 percent; LG Chem retreated by 1.39 percent; and Lotte Chemical stumbled by 1.20 percent. S-Oil improved by 1.18 percent, while SK Innovation dipped slightly by 0.10 percent. POSCO declined by 1.42 percent, SK Telecom went down by 0.77 percent, Hyundai Mobis decreased by 0.90 percent, Hyundai Motor fell by 0.19 percent, Kia Motors slipped by 0.08 percent, and KEPCO remained unchanged.
From Wall Street, there were mixed signals as key indexes opened and closed the session without a clear direction. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 216.73 points, or 0.55 percent, closing at 38,852.86. Conversely, the NASDAQ rose by 99.09 points, or 0.59 percent, reaching a record close of 17,019.88, and the S&P 500 edged up by 1.32 points, or 0.02 percent, to end at 5,306.04.
The NASDAQ’s continued growth was driven by a significant rise in Nvidia (NVDA) shares, which surged by 7.1 percent to a record high. Meanwhile, Merck (MRK) shares plummeted by 2.6 percent, dragging the Dow down with it, marking Merck's lowest closing in over a month.
In U.S. economic news, the Conference Board reported an unexpectedly significant improvement in consumer confidence for May.
Oil prices increased on Tuesday, motivated by hopes for higher demand during the U.S. driving season and expectations that OPEC will maintain its production cuts into the next quarter. West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures for July increased by $2.11, or 2.7 percent, closing at $79.83 a barrel.
