Tech Shares May Weigh On South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished higher in back-to-back trading days, advancing almost 100 points or 3.1 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 3,050-point plateau although investors may cash in on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with optimism again limited by bond yield concerns. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the technology stocks and automobile producers, while the financials were mixed.

For the day, the index climbed 40.69 points or 1.35 percent to finish at 3,054.39 after trading between 3,030.73 and 3,061.43. Volume was 1.6 billion shares worth 12.9 trillion won. There were 709 gainers and 151 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial skidded 1.27 percent, while KB Financial plunged 3.08 percent, Hana Financial collected 1.59 percent, Samsung Electronics advanced 0.98 percent, LG Electronics surged 3.39 percent, SK Hynix rallied 2.19 percent, Naver jumped 1.87 percent, LG Chem added 0.53 percent, Lotte Chemical dropped 0.82 percent, S-Oil gained 0.71 percent, SK Innovation rose 0.41 percent, POSCO shed 0.66 percent, SK Telecom gained 0.99 percent, KEPCO climbed 1.31 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 1.75 percent and Kia Motors perked 0.61 percent.

The lead from Wall Street continues to be a dichotomy as the Dow opened higher and remained so on its way to a record closing high. The NASDAQ and S&P opened in the red, although the latter inched into the green by the session's close.

The Dow jumped 293.05 points or 0.90 percent to finish at 32,778.64, while the NASDAQ sank 78.81 points or 0.59 percent to end at 13,319.86 and the S&P 500 rose 4.00 points or 0.10 percent to close at 3,943.34. For the week, the Dow spiked 4.1 percent, the NASDAQ jumped 3.1 percent and the S&P gained 2.6 percent.

The continued advance by the Dow came as traders expressed optimism about the economy reopening after President Joe Biden directed states to make all adults eligible for a coronavirus vaccine by May 1. The vaccine news combined with the new $1.9 trillion stimulus package led to hopes for a return to normalcy after a year of the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, the economic optimism also led to a spike in treasury yields, with the ten-year yield surging above 1.6 percent to reach its highest levels in a year - which resulted in selling pressure for the tech-heavy NASDAQ.

In economic news, the University of Michigan said U.S. consumer sentiment improved more than expected in March, hitting a one-year index high.

Crude oil prices fluctuated on Friday as traders remained optimistic about the outlook for energy demand but seemed reluctant to continue pushing oil prices higher. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery closed down $0.41 at $65.61 a barrel.