The South Korea stock market on Monday wrote a finish to the five-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 95 points or 5.2 percent. The KOSPI finished just above the 1,930-point plateau, and now investors are bracing for additional selling pressure when the market opens on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is slightly negative after German economy minister Philipp Roesler expressed disappointment at Greece's efforts to implement necessary reforms tied to its international aid program. Also, Italy raised 8 billion euros through a 12-month bill auction, but at a slightly higher interest rate compared to an earlier auction. The European markets finished slightly lower and the U.S. bourses were mixed but little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the technology stocks and oil companies.
For the day, the index shed 13.96 points or 0.72 percent to finish at 1,932.44 after trading between 1,932.40 and 1,946.20. Volume was 348 million shares worth 3.1 trillion won. There were 418 decliners and 385 gainers.
Among the actives, Samsung Electronics lost 1.71 percent, LG Electronics dropped 2.65 percent and SK Innovation fell 2.38 percent, while CJ CheilJedang jumped 2.5 percent, Nongshim spiked 3.91 percent, KT&G climbed 1.43 percent and SK Telecom collected 2.41 percent.
Wall Street offers little guidance as stocks turned in a lackluster performance on Monday, eventually ending the session mostly lower. The choppy trading came as traders expressed uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following recent strength.
The weakness in morning trading came as some traders cashed in on the recent strength in the markets, which had lifted the major averages to three-month highs.
Disappointing Japanese economic data also contributed to the pullback by stocks, with a report from Japan's Cabinet Office showing weaker than expected Japanese economic growth in the second quarter.
Japanese GDP rose 0.3 percent sequentially in the second quarter, below forecasts for 0.6 percent growth. Annually, GDP rose 1.4 percent, while economists had expected a 2.5 percent increase.
While the report added to recent concerns about the outlook for the global economy, the data also hints at the possibility of further monetary stimulus.
Even though a majority of stocks ended the day in the red, Sysco turned in a strong performance after the food distributor reported better than expected fourth quarter earnings. Shares of Sysco advanced 4.5 percent.
After coming under pressure in morning trading, the major averages rebounded in the afternoon, finishing the day mixed. The NASDAQ edged up 1.66 points or 0.1 percent to finish at 3,022.52, while the Dow fell 38.52 points or 0.3 percent to end at 13,169.43 and the S&P 500 dipped 1.76 points or 0.1 percent to close at 1,404.11.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis