The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Friday, one session after it had ended the two-day winning streak in which it had collected almost 40 points or 1.9 percent. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,245-point plateau although it may tick lower again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to lower, with investors expected to evaluate the most current coronavirus numbers. The European markets were down on Friday and the U.S. bourses were mixed but little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Friday following mixed performances from the technology and industrial stocks, while the financials and oil companies were soft.
For the day, the index added 10.63 points or 0.48 percent to finish at 2,243.59 after trading between 2,221.90 and 2,251.50. Volume was 589 million shares worth 6.1 trillion won. There were 490 decliners and 335 gainers.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial lost 0.40 percent, while Hana Financial skidded 1.17 percent, Samsung Electronics spiked 1.81 percent, Samsung SDI rose 0.15 percent, LG Electronics eased 0.15 percent, LG Display sank 0.63 percent, SK Hynix soared 2.45 percent, POSCO shed 0.68 percent, SK Telecom fell 0.44 percent, KEPCO dipped 0.39 percent, Hyundai Motors gained 0.38 percent, Kia Motors advanced 0.97 percent, S-Oil tumbled 1.80 percent, SK Innovation retreated 0.72 percent and KB Financial was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is ambiguous as stocks saw choppy trade on Friday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing mixed.
The Dow eased 25.22 points or 0.09 percent to end at 29,398.08, while the NASDAQ gained 19.21 points or 0.20 percent to 9,731.18 and the S&P 500 rose 6.22 points or 0.18 percent to 3,380.16. For the week, the NASDAQ spiked 2.2 percent, the S&P rose 1.6 percent and the Dow rose 1 percent.
Traders have recently shown a predilection toward buying despite signs of mounting headwinds, but the release of a mixed batch of U.S. economic data finally gave them pause.
The Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales rose in line with estimates in January, while core retail sales came in unchanged. Also, the Federal Reserve saw decrease in U.S. industrial production in January, while the University of Michigan noted an unexpected increase in U.S. consumer sentiment in February.
Crude oil prices surged higher on Friday with traders creating fresh long positions amid hopes the coronavirus impact may not weigh on the global economy for long. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures ended up $0.63 or 1.2 percent at $52.05 a barrel.
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