The South Korean stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, ahead of Monday's holiday for Memorial Day - shedding nearly 30 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The KOSPI finished just above the 2,110-point plateau, but now analysts are forecasting heavy damage on Tuesday as the market catches up on some negative sentiment.
The global forecast for the Asian markets remains broadly negative as markets continue to fret over the weak U.S. jobs data plus a fall in commodity prices. Oil and gold stocks figure to fall under pressure, along with properties and financials. The European and U.S. markets finished sharply lower, and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit - especially the ones that were off on Monday.
The KOSPI finished flat on Friday as gains from the financials and shipbuilders were erased by selling from the technology stocks.
For the day, the index eased 0.73 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 2,113.47 after trading between 2,108.75 and 2,131.93.
Among the decliners, LG Electronics fell 1.2 percent, while SK Innovation declined 1.1 percent and GS Holdings dropped 3.51 percent.
Finishing higher, STX Offshore & Shipbuilding finished up 0.5 percent, while STX Engine rose 6.1 percent, STX Corp jumped 5.8 percent, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering rose 2.9 percent, Hanjin Heavy Industries advanced 5.6 percent, SK Telecom ended up 0.3 percent, KT Corp rose 1.6 percent, Lotte Shopping rose 2.4 percent, Hite Brewery ended up 1.7 percent, KB Financial Group rose 3.1 percent and Shinhan Financial Group climbed 3.8 percent.
The lead from Wall Street suggests continued consolidation as stocks saw further downside on Monday after seeing significant weakness last week. Concerns about the outlook for the economy continued to weigh on the markets following last Friday's disappointing employment data.
While stocks initially showed a lack of direction, considerable selling pressure emerged over the day, as traders continued to worry about the implications of the weak jobs data. The monthly employment report released by the Labor Department last Friday showed much weaker than expected job growth in the month of May as well as an unexpected uptick by the unemployment rate.
The report, which came on the heels of the release of a series of disappointing economic reports, has led to concerns about a soft patch for the economy and the possibility of a double-dip recession. Additionally, with no major economic data released on Monday, the disappointing jobs report remained fresh in traders' minds.
In corporate news, shares of Apple (AAPL) closed lower on the day as the iPod and iPhone maker kicked off its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who is on a medical leave of absence, received a standing ovation as he made an appearance at the conference's keynote address. Jobs unveiled Apple's new iCloud service as the company looks to climb on to the "cloud computing" bandwagon.
The major averages closed firmly in negative territory and once again set new two-month closing lows. The Dow fell 61.30 points or 0.5 percent to 12,089.96, the NASDAQ dropped 30.22 points or 1.1 percent to 2,702.56 and the S&P 500 slid 13.99 points or 1.1 percent to 1,286.17.
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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.