The South Korea stock market has closed lower now in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had collected almost 65 points or 4 percent. The KOSPI settled just below the 1,855-point plateau, and now investors may be tempted to go bargain hunting when the market opens on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with many of the regional bourses remaining oversold and at attractive valuations. There also remains some positive sentiment regarding the Spanish bailout, although caution is starting to take hold. Further limiting the upside, investors will be cautious ahead of this weekend's critical vote in Greece. On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department reported a drop in both import and export prices. The European and U.S. markets finished higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the shipyards and other industrials.
For the day, the index shed 12.30 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 1,854.74 after trading between 1,840.10 and 1,857.93.
Among the decliners, Samsung Engineering dropped 3.3 percent, while Hyundai Engineering & Construction lost 2.2 percent, STX Offshore & Shipbuilding fell 2.4 percent and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering retreated 2.1 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as showed a strong move back to the upside on Tuesday, after moving sharply lower in the previous session. The markets benefited from bargain hunting following Monday's sell-off, as well as a pullback by Spanish bond yields. The bourses remain at relatively low levels after plummeting in May.
Traders also continued to digest news of a bailout for Spain, which has requested 100 billion euros from a euro area bailout fund in order to shore up its banking system. The Spanish ten-year bond yield hit a euro-era high during the day, but a pullback going into the close also contributed to the buying interest on Wall Street.
On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department reported a 1.0 percent drop in import prices and a 0.4 percent fall in export prices in May. The drop in import prices, which compared to estimates for a 1.1 percent decrease, was largely due to a 4.2 percent decrease in prices for fuel imports.
Among individual stocks, shares of Texas Instruments (TXN) rose by 2.1 percent after the chip maker narrowed its second quarter guidance. Juniper Networks (JNPR) also ended the day higher after announcing a new stock buyback program to purchase up to $1 billion worth of its stock.
Meanwhile, shares of FactSet Research Systems (FDS) tumbled 12.3 percent after the financial information company reported better than expected third quarter earnings but provided disappointing fourth quarter guidance.
The major averages saw continued strength going into the close, ending the day near their highs for the session as the Dow jumped 162.57 points or 1.3 percent to finish at 12,573.80, while the NASDAQ advanced 33.34 points or 1.2 percent to end at 2,843.07 and the S&P 500 surged up 15.25 points or 1.2 percent at 1,324.18.
In economic news, the unemployment rate in South Korea came in at a seasonally adjusted 3.2 percent in May, Statistics Korea said on Wednesday. That was in line with forecasts after showing 3.5 percent in April. In May, the South Korean economy added 472,000 jobs compared to a year earlier.
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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.