FX.co ★ South Korea Shares Likely To Remain Rangebound

The South Korean stock market has declined in two of the last three trading sessions, following a six-day rally where it gained nearly 120 points or 4.6%. The KOSPI index is just below the 2,650-point threshold and is expected to remain relatively stable around this level on Monday.

Globally, Asian markets are forecasted to show limited movement due to a lack of driving factors. While European markets experienced gains and the U.S. markets were mixed, it is anticipated that Asian markets will mirror the latter.

On Friday, the KOSPI ended slightly lower with declines in technology and automobile stocks, while financials and chemicals showed mixed results. The index fell by 21.79 points or 0.82%, closing at a low of 2,649.78 after reaching a high of 2,681.45. Trading volume was substantial, with 402.1 million shares exchanged, valued at 11.4 trillion won. The market saw 457 decliners and 414 gainers.

Key movements among active stocks included:

- **Shinhan Financial:** Fell by 1.40%

- **KB Financial:** Rose by 3.20%

- **Hana Financial:** Dropped by 0.33%

- **Samsung Electronics:** Declined by 0.77%

- **Samsung SDI:** Decreased by 0.90%

- **LG Electronics:** Slid by 1.30%

- **SK Hynix:** Increased by 1.60%

- **Naver:** Fell by 0.29%

- **LG Chem:** Eased by 0.14%

- **Lotte Chemical:** Soared by 11.16%

- **SK Innovation:** Declined by 1.58%

- **POSCO:** Advanced by 0.91%

- **SK Telecom:** Dropped by 2.41%

- **KEPCO:** Jumped by 2.21%

- **Hyundai Mobis:** Tumbled by 2.42%

- **Hyundai Motor:** Stumbled by 1.74%

- **Kia Motors:** Remained unchanged.

Wall Street's lead provides little direction as major indices opened slightly higher on Friday but ended mixed and largely unchanged. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 137.89 points or 0.33% to close at a record 42,313.00. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ dropped 70.70 points or 0.39% to 18,119.59, and the S&P 500 declined 7.20 points or 0.13% to 5,738.17. Over the week, the NASDAQ gained 1.0%, with the Dow and S&P both rising 0.6%.

The mixed outcomes on Wall Street followed the release of key U.S. consumer price inflation data for August. The Commerce Department reported that the personal consumption expenditures price index slightly increased by 0.1% in August, matching expectations, after a 0.2% rise in July.

Oil futures saw gains on Friday, bolstered by additional stimulus measures from the Chinese government, alleviating concerns over demand outlook. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November climbed by $0.51 to settle at $68.18 per barrel.

Looking domestically, South Korea is set to release August data for industrial production and retail sales today. In July, industrial production fell 3.6% month-on-month but rose 5.5% year-on-year, while retail sales dropped 1.9% month-on-month.