South Korea Shares Expected To Open In The Green

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Thursday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 70 points or 2.6 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,710-point plateau and it figures to bounce higher again on Friday.

The global forecast is upbeat on an improving outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks, chemical companies and automobile producers.

For the day, the index slumped 32.91 points or 1.20 percent to finish at 2,712.14 after trading between 2,710.25 and 2,749.14. Volume was 413 million shares worth 10.9 trillion won. There were 531 decliners and 355 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial stumbled 1.69 percent, while KB Financial weakened 1.42 percent, Hana Financial surrendered 1.82 percent, Samsung Electronics tumbled 1.97 percent, Samsung SDI dropped 1.49 percent, LG Electronics fell 0.64 percent, SK Hynix retreated 1.46 percent, Naver declined 1.36 percent, LG Chem slumped 1.37 percent, Lotte Chemical plummeted 2.90 percent, S-Oil eased 0.14 percent, SK Innovation sank 1.42 percent, POSCO skidded 1.36 percent, SK Telecom advanced 0.97 percent, KEPCO rallied 1.40 percent, Hyundai Mobis lost 2.59 percent, Hyundai Motor tanked 2.07 percent and Kia Motors plunged 3.71 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened lower on Thursday but quickly bounced higher and spent the rest of the day in positive territory.

The Dow jumped 331.36 points or 0.85 percent to finish at 39,387.76, while the NASDAQ gained 43.46 points or 0.27 percent to close at 16,346.26 and the S&P 500 added 26.41 points or 0.51 percent to end at 5,214.08.

The strength on Wall Street followed the release of a Labor Department report showing a bigger than expected increase by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week.

The data added to recently renewed optimism that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates in the coming months.

While the Fed is still widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged in June, the chances rates will be lower by September have reached 89.3 percent, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

Oil prices moved higher on Thursday, lifted by optimism about the outlook for demand and on recent data showing a bigger than expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $0.27 at $79.26 a barrel.