The South Korea stock market on Thursday finally ended the six-day losing streak in which it had given away almost 1300 points or 6.8 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 1,845-point plateau, although now analysts are forecasting renewed selling pressure at the opening of trade on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation thanks to expanding concerns from Europe and soft U.S. economic data. Fitch Ratings downgraded Greece's long-term debt ratings to CCC from B-, citing the heightened risk that Greece may not be able to sustain its membership in the eurozone. That was coupled with a run on Spanish banks after that country officially slipped back into recession. The European and U.S. markets finished sharply lower, and the Asian markets are expected to open in the red.
The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Thursday, nudged into the green by bargain hunting among the technology stocks.
For the day, the index added 4.71 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 1,845.24 after trading between 1,833.08 and 1,856.34.
Among the actives, SK Hynix surged 6.3 percent, SK Innovation spiked 6.3 percent and S-Oil jumped 4 percent, while STX Pan Ocean plunged by the daily limit of 15 percent and Samsung Electronics shed 0.6 percent.
The lead from Wall Street continues to be negative as stocks saw substantial weakness on Thursday, with traders reacted negatively to disappointing U.S. economic data. Lingering concerns about the financial situation in Europe also weighed on the markets.
The sell-off followed a report from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve showing an unexpected contraction in regional manufacturing activity in May as its diffusion index of current activity tumbled to a negative 5.8 from a positive 8.5 in April, with a negative reading indicating a contraction in regional manufacturing activity. The drop surprised economists, who had expected a reading of 10.0.
Adding to the negative sentiment, the Conference Board reported an unexpected drop by its leading economic indicators index, which edged down by 0.1 percent in April following a 0.3 percent increase in March. Economists had expected the index to inch up by 0.1 percent.
Also, the Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims unexpectedly came in unchanged in the week ended May 12. Jobless claims came in at 370,000, unchanged from the previous week's revised figure. Economists had expected 365,000 versus the 367,000 originally reported for the previous week.
In corporate news, Wal-Mart (WMT) bucked the downtrend by the broader markets after the retail giant reported better than expected first quarter results. The company also forecast second quarter earnings in line with estimates.
The major U.S. averages were sharply lower on Thursday as the Dow fell 156.06 points or 1.2 percent to finish at 12,442.49, while the NASDAQ plummeted 60.35 points or 2.1 percent to end at 2,813.69 and the S&P 500 dropped 19.94 points or 1.5 percent to 1,304.86. With the losses, the major averages extended a month-long downward move. The Dow and the S&P 500 hit four-month closing lows, while the NASDAQ fell to its lowest closing level in well over three months.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.