The South Korean stock market experienced another downturn on Thursday, following a brief recovery that paused a two-day decline in which it lost nearly 40 points or 1.4%. The KOSPI index ended just above 2,435 points, and there are indications it may decrease further on Friday.
Globally, the outlook for Asian markets remains uncertain due to concerns over interest rate trends. European markets recorded losses, while U.S. stock exchanges presented mixed and mostly flat results, a trend likely to influence Asian markets.
The KOSPI saw a significant drop on Thursday, affected by losses in financial, technology, and automobile sectors. Specifically, the index fell by 48.50 points, or 1.95%, closing at 2,435.93. Trading ranged between 2,423.59 and 2,450.05, with a volume of 492.8 million shares valued at 8.3 trillion won. The market showed 681 stocks declining versus 212 advancing.
Prominent movements among active stocks included Shinhan Financial dropping 2.30%, KB Financial slipping 0.34%, and Hana Financial decreasing 2.34%. Key technology stocks also saw declines: Samsung Electronics plunged 3.28%, Samsung SDI fell 1.62%, and SK Hynix tumbled 4.63%. LG Electronics dropped 3.72%, while Naver decreased 1.41% and LG Chem fell 0.77%. Lotte Chemical, however, managed a 1.09% gain. SK Innovation and POSCO Holdings both saw declines of 3.28% and 2.05%, respectively, with other notable declines in SK Telecom, KEPCO, Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Motor, and Kia Motors.
In the U.S., Wall Street provided little direction as main indices began strong on Thursday due to bargain hunting, but momentum waned, closing with minor changes.
The Dow Jones edged up 15.37 points or 0.04% to 42,342.24, while the NASDAQ decreased by 19.93 points or 0.10% to 19,372.77, and the S&P 500 fell by 5.08 points or 0.09% to 5,867.08.
This initial strength was due to traders capitalizing on lower stock prices after a sharp drop on Wednesday, which pushed the Dow to its lowest close in over a month. The downturn followed the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates by a quarter-point, paired with projections of fewer rate cuts in the forthcoming year than previously anticipated. Positive economic data supported the Fed's cautious stance, as the Commerce Department reported stronger-than-expected GDP growth in Q3 and the Labor Department noted a decline in first-time jobless claims.
Oil futures also declined on Thursday, impacted by a stronger dollar following the Federal Reserve's rate announcements. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for January ended down by $0.67, or 0.95%, at $69.91 per barrel.
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