FX.co ★ Tech Shares May Extend KOSPI's Losing Streak

South Korea's stock market has been declining for four consecutive sessions, resulting in a nearly 125 point or 4.6 percent drop. The KOSPI index now sits just under the 2,585-point level and is foreseen to continue in the same trajectory come Thursday.

Mixed to low forecasts for the global economy are predicted to impact the Asian markets, with oil and technology stocks projected to be the hardest hit. While the European markets experienced an upward trend and the U.S. markets dropped, the Asian markets are poised to fall somewhere in between.

In a detailed market action, Wednesday saw the KOSPI end considerably lower following losses in the financial, technology, and industrial segments. Specifically, the index plummeted by 25.45 points or 0.98 percent to close at the day's worst of 2,584.18, after reaching a high of 2,626.63. A total of 400.5 million shares valued at 9.5 trillion won were exchanged. The number of declining stocks outstripped that of gains, with 456 stocks dropping and 406 advancing.

In terms of individual stocks, there was a general trend of depreciation. Shinhan Financial fell by 1.22 percent, KB Financial contracted by 2.02 percent, Hana Financial dropped by 2.43 percent, and Samsung Electronics shrank by 1.38 percent. Industrial giants LG Electronics, SK Hynix, LG Chem, Lotte Chemical, S-Oil, POSCO, Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Motor, and Kia Motors also experienced declines.

Wall Street also had a lackluster day, with major indices opening higher but quickly retreating, spending the majority of the day in the negative territory. The Dow Jones fell by 0.12 percent, NASDAQ declined by 1.15 percent, and S&P 500 contracted by 0.58 percent to close the day.

Possible reasons for the negative performance centers on concerns about the future of interest rates. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's suggestion that rates may remain high for a longer period due to a lack of progress towards reaching the bank's inflation goal presumably played a part. Additionally, the tech-heavy NASDAQ felt the weight of a poor performance by Nvidia, and a slump in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Lastly, oil prices also suffered a blow, with West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery plunging $2.67 or 3.1 percent to $82.69 a barrel following a surge in U.S. crude oil inventories.