Tech Shares May Drag KOPSI Lower

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the six-day winning streak in which it had surged almost 1,350 points or 16 percent. The KOSI now rests just above the 8.470-point plateau and it may be stuck in neutral on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is slightly soft, with selling pressure among the technology stocks likely to tip the markets into the red. The European and U.S. bourses were mostly lower and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Wednesday following large gains among the technology stocks and chemical companies, while the financial sector was soft.

For the day, the index rallied 267.18 points or 3.26 percent to finish at 8,471.02. Volume was 413.4 million shares worth 53.78 trillion won. There were 514 gainers and 366 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial tumbled 2.05 percent, while KB Financial retreated 1.24 percent, Hana Financial skidded 1.13 percent, Samsung Electronics skyrocketed 9.84 percent, Samsung SDI soared 4.26 percent, LG Electronics climbed 1.24 percent, SK Hynix advanced 0.98 percent, Naver contracted 1.53 percent, LG Chem rallied 2.06 percent, Lotte Chemical surged 6.10 percent, SK Innovation rose 0.35 percent, POSCO Holdings accelerated 2.95 percent, SK Telecom improved 1.22 percent, KEPCO advanced 1.38 percent, Hyundai Mobis dipped 0.20 percent, Hyundai Motor fell 0.39 percent and Kia Motors increased 1.09 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday but couldn't hold the gains, finally finishing mixed.

The Dow climbed 182.06 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 51,848.90, while the NASDAQ slumped 110.40 points or 0.43 percent to close at 25,476.63 and the S&P 500 slipped 7.24 points or 0.10 percent to end at 7,358.22.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street, and especially the tech-heavy NASDAQ, was the result of renewed selling among semiconductor stocks over artificial intelligence infrastructure concerns.

The early strength came despite some uncertainty surrounding the US-Iran peace deal amid disagreements between the two nations over a few key terms of the pact.

A slide in crude oil prices also spurred the markets higher as West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery tumbled $2.87 or 3.92 percent to $70.34 per barrel as shipping traffic picks up across the Strait of Hormuz.

In economic news, data from the Commerce Department showed sales of new single-family homes in the US tumbled 7.3 percent month-over-month in May to the lowest annualized rate of 580,000, following an upwardly revised 626,000 in April.