Ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, the South Korea stock market snapped the four-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 430 points or 8.2 percent. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 5,510-point plateau although it may bounce higher again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, supported by technology and oil stocks. The European and US. Markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.
The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks, chemical companies and industrials.
For the day, the index sank 15.26 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 5,507.01 after trading between 5,480.92 and 5,583.74. Volume was 1.28 billion shares worth 30.3 trillion won. There were 545 decliners and 336 gainers.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial stumbled 3.30 percent, while KB Financial fell 0.36 percent, Hana Financial contracted 1.85 percent, Samsung Electronics jumped 1.46 percent, Samsung SDI tanked 2.85 percent, LG Electronics tumbled 3.46 percent, SK Hynix slumped 0.90 percent, Naver skidded 1.17 percent, LG Chem plunged 3.57 percent, Lotte Chemical declined 2.07 percent, SK Innovation dropped 2.15 percent, POSCO Holdings cratered 1.96 percent, SK Telecom skyrocketed 10.90 percent, KEPCO shed 0.50 percent, Hyundai Mobis sank 2.47 percent, Hyundai Motor retreated 1.38 percent and Kia Motors lost 1.32 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, slumped later in the day but still moved solidly back to the upside by the close.
The Dow gained 129.47 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 49,662.66, while the NASDAQ jumped 175.25 points or 0.78 percent to close at 22,753.63 and the S&P 500 added 38.09 points or 0.56 percent to end at 6,881.31.
The early strength on Wall Street came as shares of Nvidia (NVDA) surged after the AI chipmaker announced a multi-year, multi-generational strategic partnership with Facebook parent Meta (META) spanning on-premises, cloud and AI infrastructure.
Positive sentiment was also generated some upbeat U.S. economic data, including a Federal Reserve report showing industrial production increased more than expected in January.
However, stocks pulled back off their highs after the release of the minutes of the Fed’s latest monetary policy meeting, which said officials remain divided on the outlook for interest rates.
Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Wednesday after reports that Iran failed to address core U.S. demands in nuclear talks earlier this week. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery soared $2.73 or 4.4 percent to $64.99 a barrel.
Closer to home, South Korea will provide January numbers for imports, exports and trade balance later this morning. In December, imports were up 11.7 percent on year and exports jumped an annual 33.9 percent for a trade surplus of $8.74 billion.
Market Analysis
Rebound Anticipated For South Korea Stock Market
2026-02-18 23:03:27
