(RTTNews) - After a positive start and a subsequent fall into the red, the South Korean market is edging higher around noon with stocks finding some good support at lower levels. The drop in U.S. consumer spending appears to have forced a section of investors to move on to the sidelines, as the decline is likely to cause a significant dent in revenues of exporters.

The benchmark KOSPI index, which fell to 1,562 after surging to 1,587 in early trades, is currently up 1.3 points or 0.08% at 1,574.

Automobile stocks are trading mixed. Ssangyong Motor is up 1%, while Hyundai Motor and Kia Motor are down in the red with notable losses.

Shipping stocks Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries and STX Pan Ocean are lower by 0.4% - 1%, while Daewoo Shipbuilding is down with a 2% loss.

In the banking space, Korea Exchange Bank, KB Financial and Shinhan Financial are trading higher by 1%- 1.5%, while Woori Finance is down in negative territory with a loss of about 1%.

Among technology stocks, LG Display LCD is up 1.6%. Heavyweight Samsung Electronics is down with a modest loss, while Hynix Semiconductor and LG Electronics are trading lower by 2% and 3.5% respectively.

Steel stocks Hyundai Steel and POSCO are trading stronger by 1% and 1.3%, respectively. Oil stocks are exhibiting weakness. Telecom and airliners are also trading lower.

In economic news, according to a report from the government, South Korea’s inflation-adjusted household income in the third quarter dropped 3.3% from a year earlier, slightly worse than the 2.8% decline in the second quarter. However, household spending on consumption purposes rose 1.5% in the July-September period over a year before after adjusting for inflation, rebounding from the 1.1% fall in the second quarter.

Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia, Shanghai, Singapore, Japan and New Zealand are trading weak, while Hong Kong is up with a notable gain. Indonesia and Taiwan are trading flat. Markets in the region closed mostly lower on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks declined notably Thursday, despite better-than-expected jobs data and further signs of life on the merger and acquisitions front. Despite moving off their worst levels of the day, the major averages closed with sizeable losses. The Dow ended lower by 93.8 points or 0.9% at 10,198, the Nasdaq drifted down 17.9 points or 0.8% to 2,149, and the S&P 500 closed with a loss of 11.3 points or 1% at 1,087.

Major European markets closed on a mixed note on Thursday. While the French CAC 40 index and the German DAX index edged down by 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively, U.K.’s FTSE 100 index closed up 0.2%.

Crude oil prices plunged below US$77 on Thursday after the Energy Information Administration reported inventories rose more than expected last week. The EIA report showed crude oil inventories increased by 1.8 million barrels from the previous week. Light sweet crude for December fell to US$76.94 per barrel, down US$2.34 on the session.

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Posted in Categories: Australia, Eurozone, Japan, New Zealand, Releases, Stocks, USA.

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