(RTTNews) – South Korea’s stock market has fallen on two of three trading days since ending a two-day winning streak in which it climbed more than 55 points or 2.1% . KOSPI now sits just above the 2,610 plateau, although it is expected to rebound again on Friday.

The overall outlook for Asian markets is broadly positive, with support expected from technology, retail, oil and airline stocks. European and American markets were up and Asian stock exchanges should follow suit.

The KOSPI ended slightly lower on Thursday as losses in tech stocks were tempered by gains in oil companies and mixed performance in financials and industrials.

For the day, the index fell 4.77 points or 0.18% to end at 2,612.45 after trading between 2,602.01 and 2,641.91. The volume was 583.60 million shares worth 8.48 trillion won. There were 422 rejections and 395 winners.

Among assets, KB Financial lost 0.67%, while Hana Financial collected 0.73%, Samsung Electronics lost 0.75%, Samsung SDI fell 1.02%, LG Electronics lost 0.49 %, SK Hynix plunged 4.63%, Lotte Chemical added 0.77%, S-Oil improved 0.95%, SK Innovation gained 0.98%, POSCO climbed 1.20%, SK Telecom strengthened 1.06%, KEPCO rose 0.85%, Hyundai Motor rose 0.27%, Kia Motors fell 0.24% and Shinhan Financial, LG Chem and Naver remained unchanged.

Wall Street’s lead is bullish as major averages opened higher on Thursday and gained momentum and the day moved higher, ending near session highs.

The Dow Jones jumped 516.91 points or 1.61% to end at 32,637.10, while the NASDAQ jumped 305.91 points or 2.68% to end at 11,740.65 and the S&P 500 jumped 79.11 points or 1.99% to close at 4,057.84.

Wall Street’s strength came as traders continued to recover stocks to relatively reduced levels after recent weakness.

Adding to the positive sentiment, the Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims in the United States fell more than expected last week.

In other economic news, the Commerce Department said economic activity in the United States fell slightly more than expected in the first quarter of 2022. Additionally, the National Association of Realtors said pending home sales fell much more than expected in April.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Thursday amid growing signs of tighter supply in the market ahead of the peak of the U.S. driving season which kicks off next week. A weak dollar and the possibility of EU sanctions on Russian oil also contributed to the spike in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for July ended up $3.76 or 3.4% at $114.09 a barrel.

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