Mild Rebound Seen For South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Thursday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 25 points or 1 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,780-point plateau although it may bounce higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to slightly higher ahead of key inflation data later today. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financials, chemicals and technology stocks, while the automobile producers offered support.

For the day, the index shed 7.99 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 2,784.06. Volume was 387.4 million shares worth 10.1 trillion won. There were 619 decliners and 262 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial skidded 1.05 percent, while KB Financial shed 0.51 percent, Samsung Electronics added 0.37 percent, Samsung SDI tumbled 2.17 percent, LG Electronics stumbled 1.53 percent, SK Hynix fell 0.21 percent, Naver retreated 1.78 percent, LG Chem tanked 2.27 percent, Lotte Chemical plummeted 3.95 percent, S-Oil lost 0.60 percent, SK Innovation perked 0.09 percent, POSCO declined 1.24 percent, SK Telecom slumped 1.15 percent, KEPCO slid 0.36 percent, Hyundai Mobis sank 0.79 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 2.94 percent, Kia Motors gained 0.54 percent and Hana Financial was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line all day Thursday before finally settling with mild gains.

The Dow added 36.26 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 39,164.06, while the NASDAQ gained 53.53 points or 0.30 percent to close at 17,858.68 and the S&P 500 rose 4.97 points or 0.09 percent to end at 5,482.87.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of key inflation data later today.

The Commerce Department is due to release its report on personal income and spending in May, which includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve; the report could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.

In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week. Also, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods unexpectedly crept higher last month.

Oil futures settled higher Thursday on hopes about the outlook for demand, and on concerns about possible supply disruptions due to tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August added $0.84 at $81.74 a barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will provide May figures for industrial production and retail sales later today. Industrial output is expected to add 0.2 percent on month and 3.1 percent on year after rising 2.2 percent on month and 6.1 percent on year in April. Sales are tipped to rise 0.2 percent on month after sinking 1.2 percent in the previous month.