The South Korean market is trading weak on Tuesday with investors indulging in some selling in banking, oil, telecom and technology stocks. Shipping, steel and automobile stocks are trading mixed.
Though Wall Street ended on a positive note overnight, profit taking and lack of prominent cues from the domestic front appear to have forced investors on to a defensive mood on Tuesday.
The benchmark KOSPI index, which declined to 1,673.2 in early trades, is currently down 8.6 points or 0.5% at 1,677.
Among technology stocks, heavyweight Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor are trading flat, while LG Display LCD and LG Electronics are trading higher by 1.1% and 0.5% respectively.
In the banking space, Korea Exchange Bank is down with a loss of 2.7% and Shinhan Financial is trading lower by 1.3%, while Woori Finance and KB Financial are down modestly from their previous closing levels.
Among automobile stocks, Kia Motor is trading 0.5% up, while Hyundai Motor is down with a loss of 0.4%. Among airliners, Korean Air is up nearly 2% and Asiana Airlines is trading modestly higher.
In the shipping space, Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding are trading higher by 1.5% and 0.4% respectively, while Samsung Heavy Industries and STX Pan Ocean are exhibiting weakness.
Oil stocks SK Holdings, S-Oil and KEPCO are trading notably lower. Among steel stocks, Hyundai Steel is up 1.3%, while POSCO is trading lower by about 0.6%. Telecom stocks SK Telecom and KT Corp are trading weaker by 3.3% and 2.4% respectively.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia is trading notably higher. Shanghai, Hong Kong, Indonesia, New Zealand and Singapore are up with modest gains, while Malaysia, Japan and Taiwan are trading weak. Markets across the region had closed moderately higher on Monday.
On Wall Street, stocks managed to close modestly higher on Monday and extended their winning streak to a sixth successive session. After moving in a somewhat choppy fashion early on, the major averages moved to the upside going into the close.
The Dow moved up 27 points or 0.3% to 10,547.1, the Nasdaq advanced by 5.4 points or 0.2% to 2,291.8 and the S&P 500 edged up 1.3 points or 0.1% to 1,127.8.
Major European markets ended moderately higher on Monday. The French CAC 40 index and the German DAX index gained 0.9% and 0.8% respectively, while the U.K. markets were closed on the day.
Crude oil gained for a fourth straight day on Monday on improved demand prospects as strong holiday sales data boosted the outlook for the economy. Oil also got a boost from a slightly weaker dollar and turmoil in the Middle East. Light sweet crude for February rose to US$78.77 per barrel, up 72 cents on the session.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
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.