KOSPI May Hand Back Friday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Friday, one session after ending the three-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 120 points or 3 percent. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 4,130-point plateau although it may tick lower again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets calls for little movement with perhaps a touch of weakness in thin trade between the Christmas and New Year's holidays. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were slightly lower and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Friday as gains from the technology stocks were offset by weakness from the financial shares and properties.

For the day, the index gained 21.06 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 4,129.68 after trading between 4,116.53 and 4,143.14. Volume was 502.7 million shares worth 16 trillion won. There were 639 decliners and 246 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial retreated 1.29 percent, while KB Financial skidded 1.19 percent, Hana Financial slumped 1.16 percent, Samsung Electronics surged 5.31 percent, Samsung SDI tumbled 2.14 percent, LG Electronics contracted 1.41 percent, SK Hynix jumped 1.87 percent, Naver stumbled 2.11 percent, LG Chem surrendered 2.89 percent, Lotte Chemical declined 2.29 percent, SK Innovation dropped 2.09 percent, POSCO Holdings sank 1.91 percent, SK Telecom fell 0.56 percent, KEPCO improved 0.73 percent, Hyundai Mobis lost 1.92 percent, Hyundai Motor shed 1.04 percent and Kia Motors was down 0.99 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests slight consolidation as the major averages hugged the line on Friday and finished very slightly under water.

The Dow shed 29,19 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 48,710.97, while the NASDAQ slipped 20.21 points or 0.09 percent to close at 23,593.10 and the S&P 500 eased 2.11 points or 0.03 percent to end at 6,929.94.

For the week, the S&P 500 shot up 1.4 percent, while the Dow and the NASDAQ both jumped 1.2 percent.

The lackluster performance on Wall Street came as many traders remained away from their desks following the Christmas Day holiday on Thursday, leading to below average trading activity.

Traders may also have been reluctant to make significant moves following the recent upward trend, which lifted the Dow and S&P 500 to new record closing highs.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Friday on supply concerns due to the intensifying conflict between the United States and Venezuela. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was down $1.41 or 2.42 percent at $56.94 per barrel.