The South Korean stock market experienced a slight decline on Wednesday, continuing a trend that saw a drop of nearly 35 points, or 1.4 percent, following the halt of a two-day dip. The KOSPI now hovers just below the 2,500 mark, but expectations suggest it will rebound on Thursday.
Market forecasts on a global scale look optimistic for Asian markets, primarily driven by a relaxing of inflation concerns in the U.S., which eased fears surrounding interest rate hikes. Both European and U.S. markets ended the day on a strong note, with Asian markets likely to follow suit.
On Wednesday, the KOSPI saw marginal losses, influenced by setbacks in the industrial sector and varied performances across financial services and technology stocks. Specifically, the index edged down by 0.59 points or 0.02 percent, closing at 2,496.81, after fluctuating between 2,493.10 and 2,524.36. Trading volume totaled 525.6 million shares, amounting to 9 trillion won, with 592 stocks declining and 270 advancing.
In key market movements, Shinhan Financial gained 1.62 percent, KB Financial increased by 1.24 percent, whereas Hana Financial declined by 0.34 percent. Samsung Electronics dropped 0.37 percent, Samsung SDI fell sharply by 2.11 percent, SK Hynix rose by 1.64 percent, and Naver saw a 2.23 percent spike. Conversely, LG Chem decreased by 1.84 percent, SK Innovation slipped by 1.65 percent, and POSCO Holdings lost 0.96 percent. SK Telecom fell by 0.54 percent, KEPCO gained 1.24 percent, Hyundai Motor dipped by 0.68 percent, Kia Motors plummeted by 3.19 percent, while the stocks of LG Electronics, Lotte Chemical, and Hyundai Mobis remained unchanged.
Wall Street provided strong guidance as major indices opened solidly higher and maintained those gains throughout the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged by 703.27 points, or 1.65 percent, to conclude at 43,221.55. The NASDAQ spiked by 466.84 points, or 2.45 percent, closing at 19,511.23, while the S&P 500 climbed by 107.00 points, or 1.83 percent, ending at 5,949.91.
The U.S. market rally was fueled by a favorable reaction to the Labor Department's report on December's consumer price inflation. Although consumer prices increased slightly more than anticipated, the annual growth rate for core consumer prices unexpectedly slowed down. Financial sectors received an additional boost from positive earnings reports from JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup.
Oil prices surged on Wednesday as U.S. crude inventories fell the previous week and potential supply disruptions loomed due to new sanctions against Russia. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for February delivery climbed by $2.54, or 3.3 percent, settling at $80.04 per barrel.
Domestically, the Bank of Korea is poised to finalize its monetary policy meeting today, during which it will announce its interest rate decision and schedule future meetings. The central bank is broadly expected to maintain its benchmark lending rate at 3.00 percent.
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