The South Korean stock market on Thursday ended the modest two-day winning streak in which it had collected nearly 45 points or 2.2 percent. The KOSPI finished just above the 2,055-point plateau, and now the market draws a mixed lead when it kicks off trade on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is conflicted, pitting optimism regarding the Greek debt crisis against pessimism regarding U.S. economic data. Crude oil stocks are expected to see considerable pressure, along with gold and property stocks - while airlines, technology, retail and telecom stocks are expected to rise. The European markets finished sharply lower and the U.S. bourses were mixed, and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The KOSPI finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the oil companies, automobile producers and financials.
For the day, the index shed 8.04 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 2,055.86 after trading between 2,048.06 and 2,064.96.
Among the decliners, S-Oil lost3.2 percent, while SK Innovation fell 2.8 percent, Hyundai Motor dropped 3.2 percent, Kia Motors Corp retreated 2.7 percent, KB Financial Group shed 1.8 percent and Hana Financial Group eased 1.4 percent.
The lead from Wall Street provides little clarity as stocks staged a significant recovery in late-day trading on Thursday after a weak start, ending the session mixed. Reports about a deal on Greece's austerity plan helped to offset concerns about the economic outlook.
The early weakness on Wall Street was partly in reaction to the Federal Reserve's downwardly revised economic growth outlook, which was released late in the day on Wednesday. Indicating that the economic recovery is continuing at a somewhat slower than expected pace, the Fed downwardly revised its growth outlook for 2011 and 2012.
Additional selling pressure was generated by the release of a report from the Labor Department showing a notable increase in initial jobless claims in the week ended June 18.
Resource stocks helped to lead the way lower amid a sell-off in the commodities markets. The price of oil fell by more than $4 a barrel on news that the International Energy Agency plans to release 60 million barrels of oil onto the world market.
However, buying interest emerged later in the trading day after reports that Greece has won the consent of a group of inspectors from the European Union and International Monetary Fund regarding its new five-year austerity plan. The inspectors approved the plan after Greece committed to an additional round of tax rises and spending cuts. While the reported deal has generated some optimism about the outlook for the financial situation in Greece, the austerity measures still must be approved by the Greek parliament.
The major averages all moved to the upside going into the close, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ climbing firmly into positive territory. The NASDAQ rose 17.56 points or 0.7 percent to 2,686.75, while the Dow fell 59.67 points or 0.5 percent at 12,050.00 and the S&P 500 slipped 3.64 points or 0.3 percent to 1,283.50. While the Dow and the S&P 500 remained stuck in negative territory, they closed well off their worst levels of the day. The Dow was down more than 200 points at its low for the session.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.