Overbought KOSPI Called Higher Again

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished higher in four straight sessions, skyrocketing more than 900 points or 12.5 percent in that span. Now at a fresh record closing high, the KOSPI sits just beneath the 7,500-point and it may add to its winnings again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher on strong employment data from the United States. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are expected to move mostly higher.

The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Friday following gains from the automobile producers and mixed performances from the financials, chemicals and technology stocks.

For the day, the index rose 7.95 points, or 0.11 percent to finish at 7,498.00 after trading between 7,318.96 and 7,511.01. Volume was 518.3 million shares worth 40 trillion won. There were 500 decliners and 367 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial dropped 0.91 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.31 percent, Hana Financial slumped 0.90 percent, Samsung Electronics skidded 1.10 percent, Samsung SDI tanked 2.31 percent, LG Electronics rallied 3.63 percent, SK Hynix jumped 1.93 percent, Naver soared 3.61 percent, LG Chem climbed 1.06 percent, Lotte Chemical shed 0.50 percent, SK Innovation tumbled 2.25 percent, POSCO Holdings retreated 1.87 percent, SK Telecom rose 0.32 percent, KEPCO contracted 1.45 percent, Hyundai Mobis skyrocketed 15.29 percent, Hyundai Motor surged 7.17 percent and Kia Motors accelerated 4.38 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is mostly positive as the major averages opened higher on Friday and largely stayed that way, although the Dow spent the ay bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

The Dow rose 12.19 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 49,609.16, while the NASDAQ rallied 440.88 points or 1.71 percent to end at 26,247.08 and the S&P 500 gained 61.82 points or 0.84 percent to close at 7,398.93.

For the week, the NASDAQ spiked 4.4 percent, the S&P 500 jumped 2.3 percent and the Dow crept up 0.2 percent.

The strength on Wall Street came following the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing much stronger than expected U.S. job growth in April.

The data helped ease concerns about the economic impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East even after the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz.

Crude oil prices inched higher Friday as Middle East tensions renewed between the U.S. and Iran. Iran is also delaying its response to a U.S. peace proposal, adding to the uncertainty. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was up $0.36 or 0.36 percent at $95.17 per barrel.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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