The South Korean stock market on Thursday halted the two-day losing streak in which it had declined more than a dozen points or 0.6 percent. The KOSPI ended just below the 1,785-point plateau, and now analysts are forecasting further gains at the opening of trade on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is fairly positive, thanks to better than expected employment data from the United States. Financials and pharmaceuticals are expected to provide support, although gold, property and airline stocks may weigh. The European and U.S. markets finished in positive territory, and the Asian markets are expected to follow that lead.
The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Thursday, as gains from the retailers were offset by weakness from the technology and financial stocks.
For the day, the index collected 5.14 percent or 0.29 percent to finish at 1,784.36 after trading between 1,775.07 and 1,790.47. Volume was 362 million shares worth 5.96 trillion won.
Among the gainers, Lotte Shopping surged 5.5 percent and Hyundai Department Store added 3.1 percent.
Finishing lower, Samsung Life Insurance shed 2.2 percent, while Korea Life Insurance lost 3.7 percent, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance fell 2 percent, Samsung Electronics was down 2 percent and Hynix Semiconductor retreated 2.2 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as stocks ended Thursday's session with modest gains, as jobless claims fell by more than forecast - although dark clouds from the European financial crisis limited the upside.
Initial upside in the markets came after data from the Labor Department showed that initial jobless claims fell to 451,000 in the week ended September 4th from the previous week's revised figure of 478,000.
Economists had only been expecting jobless claims to edge down to 470,000 from the 472,000 originally reported for the previous week.
With the bigger than expected decrease, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since falling to a nearly two-year low of 427,000 in the week ended July 7, although they remain at a relatively high level.
Stocks came off their highs in mid-afternoon trading following reports that Deutsche Bank (DB), Germany's largest bank, is mulling a share offering in order to raise roughly $11 billion in additional capital. The news served as a reminder of the continued turmoil among Europe's financial institutions.
The major averages saw some downside in late-session dealing but managed to end the day above the unchanged line. The Dow edged up by 28.23 points or 0.3 percent to end at 10,415.24, the NASDAQ rose by 7.33 points or 0.3 percent to 2,236.20 and the S&P 500 advanced by 5.31 points or 0.5 percent to 1,104.18.
In economic news, the Bank of Korea monetary policy board members on Thursday voted to hold interest rates at the current level of 2.25 percent. That surprised many analysts who had expected a hike of 25 basis points to 2.50 percent.
Most analysts were expecting the move on rates following last month's pause after the central bank had unexpectedly raised rates by 25 basis points from the record low of 2.00 percent on July 9.
The rate had held steady for 16 straight months, after the bank had trimmed rates six times in the previous four months.
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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.