KOPSI May Open Under Pressure On Monday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Friday snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 410 points or 5.3 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 6,190-point plateau and it may take further damage on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is gloomy after the Strait of Hormuz was shut down again over the weekend. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher on Friday, but the Asian bourses are now expected to open under pressure on Monday.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the technology stocks and mixed performances from the financial shares, chemical companies and industrials.

For the day, the index shed 34.13 points or 0.55 percent, to finish at 6,191.92 after trading between 6,159.88 and 6,230.32. Volume was 680.2 billion shares worth 22.8 trillion won. There were 463 gainers and 389 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial fell 0.30 percent, while Hana Financial and Kia Motors both collected 0.82 percent, Samsung Electronics shed 0.69 percent, Samsung SDI skyrocketed 7.21 percent, LG Electronics retreated 1.43 percent, SK Hynix tanked 2.34 percent, Naver dropped 0.96 percent, LG Chem added 0.70 percent, Lotte Chemical lost 0.67 percent, SK Innovation rallied 2.29 percent, POSCO Holdings soared 4.05 percent, SK Telecom spiked 2.50 percent, KEPCO rose 0.22 percent, Hyundai Motor improved 0.75 percent and KB Financial and Hyundai Mobis were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is strong as the major averages opened higher on Friday and remained firmly in the green throughout the trading day, ending at session highs.

The Dow jumped 868.71 points or 1.79 percent to finish at 49.447.43, while the NASDAQ rallied 365.78 points or 1.52 percent to end at 24,468.48 and the S&P 500 gained 84.78 points or 1.20 percent to close at 7,126.06.

For the week, the NASDAQ skyrocketed 6.8 percent, the S&P 500 soared 4.9 percent and the Dow spiked 3.2 percent.

The rally on Wall Street came following news that Iran has declared the Strait of Hormuz completely open to commercial traffic on the heels of the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

The news of the temporary reopening of the strait led to a nosedive by the price of crude oil, easing supply-related concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was down $11.17 or 10.58 percent at $84.11 per barrel.

The strength on Wall Street may also have reflected optimism about the strength of corporate earnings ahead of the quarterly results from several big-name companies this week.