South Korea Stock Market May Stop The Bleeding On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished lower in seven straight sessions, sinking more than 220 points or 8.4 percent along the way. Now at a fresh 19-month closing low, the KOSPI rests just beneath the 2,450-point plateau although it's due for bargain hunting on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with bargain hunting expected after brutal selling over the past week. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are predicted to follow suit.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower again on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares and technology stocks.

For the day, the index dropped 45.59 points or 1.83 percent to finish at 2,447.38 after trading between 2,436.04 and 2,495.54. Volume was 700.92 million shares worth 9.80 trillion won. There were 812 decliners and 86 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial slid 0.49 percent, while KB Financial retreated 1.46 percent, Hana Financial declined 1.88 percent, Samsung Electronics tumbled 1.83 percent, Samsung SDI lost 0.56 percent, LG Electronics slumped 2.20 percent, SK Hynix sank 1.21 percent, Naver tanked 3.36 percent, LG Chem fell 0.53 percent, Lotte Chemical cratered 3.00 percent, SK Innovation plummeted 3.46 percent, POSCO shed 0.76 percent, SK Telecom plunged 3.54 percent, KEPCO improved 1.13 percent, Hyundai Motor climbed 1.46 percent, Kia Motors rose 0.13 percent and S-Oil was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened solidly higher on Wednesday and remained in the green throughout the day, finishing near session highs.

The Dow climbed 303.70 points or 1.00 percent to finish at 30,668.53, while the NASDAQ surged 270.81 points or 2.50 percent to end at 11,099.15 and the S&P 500 jumped 54.51 points or 1.46 percent to close at 3,789.99.

The rally on Wall Street came even as the Federal Reserve announced the biggest increase in interest rates in almost 30 years. The Fed raised the target rate for the federal funds rate by 75 basis points to 1.50 to 1.75 percent, marking the biggest rate hike since 1994.

The widely expected move by the Fed comes as a recent report from the Labor Department showed consumer price inflation at the fastest annual rate in 40 years. Citing its goals of maximum employment and inflation at a rate of 2 percent over the longer run, the Fed also indicated that further rate hikes are likely to be appropriate.

In economic news, the Commerce Department noted an unexpected decrease in U.S. retail sales in May, while a separate report showed U.S. import prices increased by less than expected. Also, the National Association of Home Builders said homebuilder confidence fell to its lowest level since June 2020.

Crude oil prices slumped on Wednesday after data showed a jump in oil inventories in the U.S. last week, and the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by a sharp 0.75 percent. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures dropped by $2.21 or 1.8 percent to $116.72 a barrel.