The losing streak has now hit five sessions for the South Korean stock market, costing the market more than 75 points or 5 percent while sinking to a 16-month closing low. Now analysts say that the KOSPI is in a good position for a rebound on Monday, perhaps reclaiming support at the 1,500 point level.
The global forecast for Monday is broadly positive, thanks to a sharp decline in the price of crude oil. Good news out of the U.S. financial sector also helped to allay concerns about the health of the world's largest economy, which was enough to send Wall Street higher. Also, many of the Asian markets are embroiled in lengthy losing streak, which may make share pries very interesting to the bargain hunters.
The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Friday, weighed down once again by technology stocks and other exporters. Financial stocks also were drubbed, as were the airlines on rebounding oil prices, although telecoms offered a small measure of strength.
For the day, the index dropped 15.68 points or 1.04 percent to close at 1,496.91 after trading between 1,477.55 and 1,508.67. Volume was 223 million shares worth 3.7 trillion won. There were 638 decliners and 184 gainers, with 60 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the decliners, Hynix Semiconductor lost 3.01 percent, while LG Electronics Inc shed 1.83 percent, LG Display slid 2.11 percent, Kookmin Bank tumbled 6.05 percent, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co Ltd fell 3.19 percent, Hyundai Marine & Fire plunged 8.38 percent, Korean Air Line was down 1.56 percent and Asiana Airlines shed 2.39 percent. Bucking the trend, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering inched up 0.84 percent and KTF ended up 1.32 percent.
Wall Street offers a sharply positive lead as stocks turned in a standout performance on Friday, after a sharp drop in oil prices prompted investors to look for bargains. Strength in the financial sector also contributed to the buying interest on Wall Street.
Investors were encouraged when oil prices pulled back sharply during the day, more than offsetting the price increase in the previous session. The pullback by the price of oil was partly due to a rebound in the value of the U.S. dollar. After ending Thursday's trading up $5.62 at $121.18 a barrel, crude for October delivery closed down $6.59 at $114.59 a barrel.
Meanwhile, state-run Korea Development Bank is considering the acquisition of Lehman Brothers (LEH), according to various reports on Friday. Korea Development Bank, or KDB, reportedly said it is open to mergers or acquisitions of both domestic and foreign companies to cover up its weak areas as the Korean government intends to privatize the company by 2012.
Also, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's Annual Economic Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming earlier in the day, calling the current policy and economic environment "one of the most challenging" in recent memory. "Although we have seen improved functioning in some markets, the financial storm that reached gale force some weeks before our last meeting here in Jackson Hole has not yet subsided, and its effects on the broader economy are becoming apparent in the form of softening economic activity and rising unemployment," Bernanke said.
The major averages saw notable gains throughout the session, closing just below their intraday highs. The Dow closed up 197.85 points or 1.7 percent at 11,628.06, the Nasdaq closed up 34.33 points or 1.4 percent at 2,414.71 and the S&P 500 closed up 14.47 points or 1.1 percent at 1,292.19. For the week, The Nasdaq was down 1.5 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 posted weekly losses of 0.3 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
In economic news, South Korean bank's corporate lending increased 12.1 percent in the first half of 2008, the Bank of Korea reported. Outstanding loans during the January to June period totaled 493.4 trillion won.
Also, the National Statistical Office reported that South Korean household income grew 5.1 percent annually in the second quarter, slightly faster than the 5 percent rise in the first quarter. Average monthly household income amounted to 3.25 million won. Meanwhile, consumption expenditure rose 4.6 percent in the second quarter.
Finally, South Korean banks saw their earnings from overseas operations rise 1.4 percent on-year in the first half on the back of the growth of loans, the Financial Supervisory Service said on Friday. The combined net profit of 120 overseas operations in 31 countries by nine local lenders reached $253.9 million in the January-June period, compared with $250.3 million from a year earlier.
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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.