FX.co ★ Rebound Anticipated For South Korea Stock Market

On Friday, the South Korean stock market ended a three-day winning streak, in which it gained over 30 points or 1.1 percent. The KOSPI now stands just above the 2,700-point mark, with expectations for renewed support on Monday.

Global market forecasts for Asian stocks are positive, based on optimism regarding interest rate outlooks. Both European and U.S. markets saw gains, indicating a likely positive opening for Asian exchanges.

The KOSPI closed slightly lower on Friday as losses in technology and chemical sectors were offset by gains in financial and automotive shares.

For the day, the index dropped 5.98 points or 0.22 percent, closing at 2,701.69. Trading volume was 324 million shares, valued at 8.1 trillion won. There were 429 gainers and 428 decliners.

Among active stocks, Shinhan Financial rose by 1.52 percent, KB Financial added 0.35 percent, Hana Financial increased by 1.20 percent, and Industrial Bank of Korea edged up 0.14 percent. Conversely, Samsung Electronics fell by 0.77 percent, Samsung SDI declined 1.49 percent, and SK Hynix tumbled 2.93 percent. LG Electronics gained 0.61 percent, Naver was up 0.12 percent, but LG Chem and Lotte Chemical dropped by 0.32 percent and 0.84 percent, respectively. S-Oil added 0.32 percent, SK Innovation shed 0.75 percent, and POSCO stumbled 2.02 percent. SK Telecom strengthened by 1.45 percent, KEPCO increased by 0.71 percent, Hyundai Mobis rose 0.23 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated by 1.81 percent, and Kia Motors jumped by 1.56 percent.

The positive lead from Wall Street is encouraging, with major averages opening higher on Friday and closing near session highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average leapt 462.28 points or 1.14 percent to finish at 41,175.08. The NASDAQ surged 258.39 points or 1.47 percent to end at 17,877.79, while the S&P 500 gained 63.97 points or 1.15 percent to close at 5,634.61.

For the week, the Dow increased by 1.3 percent, the NASDAQ rose by 1.4 percent, and the S&P 500 climbed by 1.5 percent.

The rally on Wall Street followed remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, suggesting the central bank is prepared to begin lowering interest rates at its next monetary policy meeting in September.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department reported a significant increase in new home sales for July.

Following a rebound in the previous session, crude oil prices surged once more on Friday. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery jumped $1.82 or 2.5 percent to $74.83 per barrel, after increasing $1.08 or 1.5 percent to $73.01 per barrel during Thursday's session. However, crude oil prices declined by 0.9 percent for the week due to earlier sell-offs.