(RTTNews) - The South Korean stock market on Friday snapped the four-day losing streak that had cost the market more than 30 points or 3 percent in the process. The KOSPI rebounded back up close to resistance at 1,200 points before stalling, and now investors are getting a mixed message about the likelihood of breaking that barrier at the opening of trade on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is modestly negative, although analysts say that the passage of the U.S. economic stimulus package could offset some of the losses - but concerns over the health of the financial sector are expected to keep markets in the red. Weak economic and corporate data add to the overall negative sentiment. The European markets finished firmly in positive territory, while their U.S. counterparts all ended below the unchanged line - and the Asian markets are tipped more towards the latter group.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Friday, boosted by gains among the technology stocks and the automobile issues. The financial stocks also finished the trading day with modest gains, but not enough to keep the index from posting a loss of 1.49 percent on the week.

For the day, the index added 12.60 points or 1.07 percent to close at 1,192.44 after trading between 1,165.25 and 1,192.48. Volume was 567 million shares worth 4.14 trillion won. There were 587 gainers and 227 decliners, with 79 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the gainers, Hynix Semiconductor was up 4.4 percent, while LG Electronics advanced 4.81 percent, Hyundai Motor gained 2.35 percent, Kia Motors added 3.7 percent, KB Financial Group climbed 2.14 percent, Shinhan Financial Group was up 1.09 percent and Hana Financial Group gained 0.25 percent. Bucking the trend, SK Communications was down 3.35 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed as stocks ultimately ended Friday’s trade firmly negative after showing a lack of direction throughout much of the session as investors liquidated some positions before the long weekend that includes Monday’s holiday for President’s Day. The uncertainty in the markets came about as weak volume caused increased volatility as investors responded to some mixed news - despite the passage of the U.S. economic stimulus package.

The U.S. Senate on Friday passed a $787 billion economic stimulus and recovery package, meeting a self-imposed deadline to have the measure ready for President Barack Obama’s signature by Presidents’ Day. Earlier in the day the House passed the same bill on a largely party-line vote of 246 to 183, with no Republicans voting for it. In the Senate vote of 60 to 38, three Republicans broke ranks to get the bill across a crucial 60-vote hurdle in a procedural vote that also counted as final adoption of the measure.

On the corporate front, PepsiCo (PEP) reported quarterly results on Thursday that included an adjusted earnings figure that rose year-over-year and came in line with expectations. The company also said that it expects moderate earnings and revenue growth for full-year 2009.

Meanwhile, in economic news, Reuters and the University of Michigan said their consumer sentiment index fell to a reading of 56.2 in February from a reading of 61.2 in January. Economists had been expecting a more modest decrease by the index to a reading of about 60.2. Additionally, mass layoff events showed a substantial increase in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a report released by the Labor Department, with both layoff events and separations reaching their highest levels on record.

In other news, President Obama addressed the Business Council at the White House, saying that the long-term recovery would take “years, not months.” As he spoke, Obama pressed for bold action and assistance from the business community. Obama said his administration would be looking to the business community “for your help not only crafting the policies of the 21st century, but crafting a government for the 21st century.”

The major averages showed a notable downward move going into the close, ending the day well below the unchanged line. The Dow closed down 82.35 points or 1.0 percent at 7,850.41, the Nasdaq closed down 7.35 points or 0.5 percent at 1,534.36 and the S&P 500 closed down 8.35 points or 1 percent at 826.84. After seeing some strength last week, the major averages all posted weekly losses for this week due to largely to the sell-off seen on Tuesday. The Dow fell 5.2 percent for the week to set a two-month closing low, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 posted weekly losses of 3.6 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively.

In corporate news, South Korean banks on Sunday agreed to use a government-funded $15 billion bank recapitalization fund to expand lending to small companies and to restructure troubled firms, the banks said in a joint statement. Four main banks — Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori and Hana — and five other lenders also agreed to roll over all corporate loans maturing in 2009, except for lending to bankrupt companies.

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Posted in Categories: Eurozone, Releases, Stocks, USA.

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