FX.co ★ Rally May Stall For South Korea Stock Market

The South Korean stock market has enjoyed a positive run in consecutive sessions, gaining over 60 points or 2.3%. The KOSPI index now stands above the 2,720-point mark, though it may face a downturn on Monday.

Forecasts for Asian markets are bleak, influenced by Friday's U.S. jobs report that spurred uncertainty regarding interest rate projections. Both European and U.S. markets experienced modest losses, indicating a similar trend for Asian markets.

On Friday, the KOSPI saw significant gains, driven by the financial and automobile sectors; however, technology and chemical stocks had a mixed performance. The index climbed by 33.17 points or 1.23%, closing at 2,722.67, with a volume of 771.8 million shares valued at 12.2 trillion won. The market had 460 gainers and 400 decliners.

In terms of individual stock performance, Shinhan Financial surged by 3.40%, KB Financial rose by 2.84%, and Hana Financial increased by 1.17%. Conversely, Samsung Electronics dipped by 0.13%, Naver fell by 0.96%, and Lotte Chemical declined by 1.93%. SK Hynix showed a robust rise of 7.12%, while LG Chem rallied by 2.00%. Other notable movers included SK Innovation, up by 0.19%, POSCO, up by 1.44%, and Hyundai Mobis, which added 0.45%.

Wall Street showed a weak lead, with major averages starting lower on Friday, recovering at midday, but ultimately closing with slight losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 87.21 points or 0.22% to end at 38,798.99. The NASDAQ dipped 39.97 points or 0.23% to 17,133.12, and the S&P 500 fell by 5.97 points or 0.11% to 5,346.99.

For the week, the NASDAQ advanced by 2.4%, the S&P 500 by 1.3%, and the Dow by 0.3%. This volatile trading came as investors reacted to the Labor Department's monthly jobs report, which showed an unexpected increase in May's employment figures but also an unexpected rise in the unemployment rate.

Oil futures remained flat on Friday due to concerns that the Federal Reserve might maintain higher interest rates longer in response to the stronger-than-expected U.S. non-farm payroll report for May. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July closed at $75.53 a barrel, down $0.02, marking a 2% decline for the week.