Exporters Likely To Weigh On South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market headed south again on Wednesday, one day after ending the three-day losing streak in which it had stumbled more than 160 points or 6.4 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,500-point plateau and it may take further damage on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative after U.S. President Donald Trump outlined his plan to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. trade partners. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the former lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower o Wednesday following losses from the chemicals and industrials, while the financials and technology stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index shed 15.53 points or 0.62 percent to finish at 2,505.86. Volume was 510.62 million shares worth 7.24 trillion won. There were 593 decliners and 275 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial rallied 1.25 percent, while KB Financial climbed 1.13 percent, Hana Financial retreated 1.30 percent, Samsung SDI plunged 3.67 percent, LG Electronics rose 0.27 percent, SK Hynix added 0.46 percent, Naver shed 0.56 percent, LG Chem plummeted 4.71 percent, Lotte Chemical cratered 3.96 percent, SK Innovation stumbled 3.54 percent, POSCO Holdings tanked 2.68 percent, SK Telecom gained 0.72 percent, KEPCO lost 0.47 percent, Hyundai Mobis jumped 1.34 percent, Hyundai Motor skidded 1.16 percent, Kia Motors slumped 1.18 percent and Samsung Electronics was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages shook off a soft open on Wednesday and tracked generally higher throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 235.36 points or 0.56 percent to finish at 42,225.32, while the NASDAQ advanced 151.16 points or 0.87 percent to close at 17,601.05 and the S&P 500 improved 37.90 points or 0.67 percent to end at 5,670.97.

The early weakness on Wall Street came amid concerns about the impact of Trump's reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trade partners.

However, traders then saw the early slump as an opportunity to pick up stocks at reduced levels, leading to the subsequent rebound.

In U.S. economic news, payroll processor ADP said private sector employment in the U.S. increased more than expected in March. Also, the Commerce Department said factory orders increased more than anticipated in February.

Crude oil prices ticked higher again on Wednesday, despite data showing an unexpected increase by U.S. crude oil inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery rose $0.51 or 0.7 percent to $71.71 a barrel.