After an initial surge and a subsequent fall from higher levels, the South Korean market is edging up on Monday with investors picking up stocks from banking, shipping and oil sectors. The mood, however, remains quite cautious amid doubts about the sustainability of global economic recovery.
The benchmark KOSPI index, which declined to 1,774 after an initial surge to 1,789, is currently trading at 1,781, up 5.5 points or 0.31% over its previous close.
Among bank stocks, Shinhan Financial, Korea Exchange Bank and KB Financial are trading higher by 0.5%-1%, while Woori Finance is down in negative territory with a loss of about 1.4%.
In the shipping space, Hyundai Heavy Industries is up 1.5%, Samsung Heavy Industries is gaining about 2.3% and STX Pan Ocean is up with a gain of 0.8%, while Daewoo Shipbuilding is trading 1.3% down.
Technology stocks LG Display LCD and LG Electronics are down 2.8% and 2.4% respectively. Samsung Electronics is up marginally and Hynix Semiconductor is trading flat.
Oil stocks SK Holdings and S-Oil are up with notable gains. KEPCO is also trading firm. Steel stocks Hyundai Steel and POSCO are down with notable losses.
Among automobile stocks, Kia Motor is down 1.2% and Hyundai Motor is trading lower by about 2.5%, while Ssangyong Motor is up in positive territory with a gain of 6.5%.
Airlines and telecommunications stocks are trading mixed.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong, Indonesia, New Zealand, Japan and Singapore are trading weak. Malaysia and Taiwan are up with notable gains, while Australia and Shanghai are trading marginally higher. Markets across the region had ended mostly lower on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks ended with modest losses on Friday with a section of traders continuing to express concerns about the economic outlook following some disappointing economic data released on Thursday.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq saw a modest gain on the day, edging up by 0.8 points or less than 0.1% to 2,179.8, while the Dow ended down 57.6 points or 0.6% at 10,213.6 and the S&P 500 closed with a loss of 3.9 points or 0.4% to 1,071.7.
Major European markets ended on a weak note on Friday. The French CAC 40 index and the German DAX index lost 1.3% and 1.2% respectively, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index ended 0.3% down.
Crude oil prices fell on Friday for the third straight session amid worries that weakening growth in the United States could curtail energy demand. Light, sweet crude for September delivery shed 97 US cents to end at US$73.46 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.