The South Korean stock market has experienced fluctuations between gains and losses over the past four trading days following a two-day downturn wherein it lost nearly 35 points, equivalent to 1.4%. Currently, the KOSPI index hovers just below the 2,525-point level, although it is anticipated to rise again by Monday.
Globally, forecasts for Asian markets are optimistic, driven by improved expectations regarding interest rates. European and U.S. markets demonstrated significant gains, and it's expected that Asian exchanges will follow suit.
On Friday, the KOSPI ended marginally lower, primarily due to declining financial shares, chemical companies, and industrials, with technology stocks showing mixed results. The index dipped by 3.94 points, or 0.16%, closing at 2,523.55, with a trading volume of 436.58 million shares, valued at 9.88 trillion won. The session saw 44 stocks declining while 434 advanced.
Key movements among active stocks included Shinhan Financial dropping 1.69%, KB Financial falling 1.99%, Hana Financial slipping 1.38%, Samsung Electronics declining 1.10%, and LG Electronics decreasing 1.65%. Conversely, SK Hynix saw a rise of 2.14%, Naver increased by 1.21%, and SK Innovation advanced by 0.94%. Meanwhile, LG Chem edged down 0.20%, Lotte Chemical lost 0.69%, POSCO Holdings fell 0.76%, and Hyundai Motor took a sharp fall of 3.42%. Other notable mentions include KEPCO, which jumped 2.47%, while Samsung SDI and Hyundai Mobis remained unchanged.
The outlook from Wall Street is broadly optimistic, with major averages opening strongly higher on Friday and maintaining this strength throughout the day, ending close to the session’s highs. The Dow rose 334.73 points or 0.78% to close at 43,487.83, while the NASDAQ surged 291.90 points or 1.51% to settle at 19,630.20, and the S&P 500 increased by 59.30 points or 1.00% to finish at 5,996.66.
Throughout the week, the Dow increased by 3.7%, the S&P 500 rose by 2.9%, and the NASDAQ climbed by 2.5%. These gains were supported by a decrease in treasury yields, despite the benchmark ten-year note recovering from an early dip to end nearly unchanged. Optimism about interest rates has been fueled by recent U.S. inflation data, which has bolstered hopes for a favorable rate outlook.
Further enhancing these expectations, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller suggested to CNBC that the central bank might reduce interest rates multiple times this year if inflation declines as anticipated.
Crude oil experienced significant downward movement on Friday, continuing the sharp decline seen in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate for February delivery dropped $0.80, or 1%, to $77.88 per barrel on Friday, although crude oil prices increased by roughly 1% for the week.
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