(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last five trading days since the end of the two-day losing streak in which it had slipped almost 20 points or 0.8 percent. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 2,515-point plateau although it may tick lower again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on rising treasury yields and ahead of key U.S. employment data later this week. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Monday as gains from the energy companies were capped by weakness from the automobile producers and a mixed picture from the financials and technology stocks.
For the day, the index added 9.94 points or 0.4 percent to finish at 2,514.95 after trading between 2,510.52 and 2,525.63. Volume was 489.9 million shares worth 8.5 trillion won. There were 458 gainers and 411 decliners.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.96 percent, while KB Financial sank 0.77 percent, Hana Financial fell 0.36 percent, Samsung Electronics advanced 0.83 percent, Samsung SDI declined 1.68 percent, LG Electronics slumped 0.78 percent, SK Hynix retreated 1.13 percent, Naver spiked 2.18 percent, LG Chem plunged 2.77 percent, Lotte Chemical dropped 0.70 percent, S-Oil added 0.58 percent, SK Innovation climbed 1.04 percent, POSCO perked 0.21 percent, KEPCO rose 0.26 percent, Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Motor both shed 0.66 percent, Kia Motors tumbled 1.98 percent and SK Telecom was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday, pared their losses but still ended firmly in the red.
The Dow dropped 41.06 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 36,204.44, while the NASDAQ slumped 119.54 points or 0.84 percent to close at 14,185.49 and the S&P 500 sank 24.85 points or 0.54 percent to end at 4,569.78.
A rebound by treasury yields contributed to the weakness on Wall Street, as the yield on the benchmark ten-year note bounced off its lowest levels in three months.
Selling pressure waned over the course of the session, however, as traders looked ahead to the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
In economic news, The Commerce Department released a report showing factory orders pulled back by much more than expected in the month of October.
Crude oil prices drifted lower on Monday, pushing the most active futures contract to a nearly three-week low amid worries about the outlook for demand and skepticism about OPEC output cuts. The dollar's rise also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended lower by $1.03 or 1.4 percent at $73.04 a barrel, the lowest settlement since November 16. Closer to home, South Korea will see Q3 figures for gross domestic product and November data for consumer prices later this morning. In Q2, GDP was up 0.6 percent on quarter and 1.4 percent on year. In October, inflation rose 0.3 percent on month and 3.8 percent on year.
