(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished lower in four straight sessions, sinking more than 70 points or 2.3 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,995-point plateau and it's looking at another red light for Thursday's trade.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation, with the volatile technology stocks in particular expected to weigh. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financials and industrials, while the technology stocks were mixed.
For the day, the index shed 8.39 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 2,996.35 after trading between 2,971.04 and 3,006.54. Volume was 965 million shares worth 13.1 trillion won. There were 430 gainers and 423 decliners.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial retreated 2.23 percent, while KB Financial shed 0.78 percent, Hana Financial fell 0.24 percent, Samsung Electronics dropped 0.98 percent, LG Electronics gained 0.69 percent, SK Hynix skidded 1.11 percent, Samsung SDI jumped 1.76 percent, LG Chem climbed 1.16 percent, Lotte Chemical declined 2.10 percent, S-Oil tumbled 1.87 percent, SK Innovation advanced 1.24 percent, POSCO surrendered 2.24 percent, SK Telecom lost 0.60 percent, KEPCO rose 0.22 percent, Hyundai Motor tanked 2.43 percent and Kia Motors plunged 2.04 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday but then headed south and eventually finished in the red.
The Dow eased 3.09 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 32,420.06, while the NASDAQ plummeted 265.81 points or 2.01 percent to end at 12,961.89 and the S&P 500 lost 21.38 points or 0.55 percent to close at 3,889.14.
Lingering concerns about the outlook for high-growth companies contributed to the sell-off by technology stocks, which have seen considerable volatility in recent sessions.
Unlike previous sessions, the weakness in the tech sector came amid a continued pullback by treasury yields. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note moved lower for the third straight day and has now fallen 14 basis points since reaching a fourteen-month intraday high last Thursday.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods unexpectedly decreased in February.
Crude oil futures surged on Wednesday after a container ship got struck in the Suez Canal and raised concerns about possible supply disruptions. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended up $3.42 or 5.9 percent at $61.18 a barrel.
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