FX.co ★ Mild Upside Seen For South Korea Stock Market

The South Korean stock market saw a slight decline on Monday, ending a three-day rally that had lifted the KOSPI by more than 80 points, or 2.8%. The index now stands just above the 2,855-mark, and it is expected to edge higher again on Tuesday.

The global outlook for Asian markets is somewhat optimistic, despite uncertainties surrounding interest rate prospects. European markets saw declines, while U.S. markets were mixed and flat. Asian markets are likely to follow the U.S. trends.

On Monday, the KOSPI experienced minor losses, predominantly in the financial and chemical sectors, while technology and industrial shares had a mixed performance. Specifically, the index dipped by 4.47 points, or 0.16%, to close at 2,857.76. Trading volume reached 420.2 million shares, with a total value of 9.8 trillion won. The market recorded 518 gainers and 344 decliners.

Key movers included:

- Shinhan Financial dropped 2.80%

- KB Financial declined 1.47%

- Hana Financial plunged 3.17%

- Samsung Electronics gained 0.34%

- Samsung SDI slipped 0.13%

- LG Electronics fell 2.26%

- SK Hynix decreased 1.06%

- Naver increased 1.43%

- LG Chem edged down 0.14%

- Lotte Chemical and S-Oil both fell 0.74%

- SK Innovation decreased 0.80%

- POSCO rose 0.13%

- SK Telecom fell 0.39%

- KEPCO climbed 1.49%

- Hyundai Mobis tumbled 1.86%

- Hyundai Motor improved 0.71%

- Kia Motors retreated 1.66%

In the United States, the major indices provided little direction as they opened higher but quickly lost gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 31.08 points (0.08%) to close at 39,344.79. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ Composite added 50.98 points (0.28%) to reach a record 18,403.74, and the S&P 500 rose by 5.66 points (0.10%) to close at another record high of 5,572.85.

The inconsistency in Wall Street's performance was attributed to ongoing uncertainty about the interest rate outlook ahead of key economic reports, including consumer and producer price indices. Traders are also keenly awaiting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony for further insights into future interest rate policies.

Oil prices declined on Monday following the shutdown of some oil export facilities near Houston due to Hurricane Beryl. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude oil futures for August settled at $82.33 per barrel, down $0.83, or 1%.