The South Korea stock market has finished lower in four straight sessions, plunging almost 140 points or 5.2 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,540-point plateau and its expected to open under pressure again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on concerns over the health of the worlds economy. The European and U.S. markets were firmly lower and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The KOSPI finished sharply lower again on Friday following losses from the technology stocks, chemicals and industrials, while the financial shares came in mixed.
For the day, the index stumbled 31.22 points or 1.21 percent to finish at 2,544.28. Volume was 368.9 million shares worth 8.5 trillion won. There were 760 decliners and 139 gainers.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 1.60 percent, while KB Financial retreated 1.54 percent, Samsung Electronics eased 0.14 percent, Samsung SDI plummeted 6.16 percent, LG Electronics slumped 3.17 percent, SK Hynix tumbled 1.88 percent, Naver declined 1.63 percent, LG Chem tanked 3.11 percent, Lotte Chemical surrendered 1.86 percent, SK Innovation dipped 0.19 percent, POSCO plunged 3.65 percent, SK Telecom climbed 1.05 percent, KEPCO stumbled 1.79 percent, Hyundai Mobis rallied 1.18 percent, Hyundai Motor shed 0.66 percent, Kia Motors dropped 0.70 percent and Hana Financial and S-Oil were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed but quickly turned lower and spent the rest of the day under water, finishing with heavy losses.
The Dow stumbled 410.39 points or 1.01 percent to finish at 40,345.41, while the NASDAQ plunged 436.87 points or 2.55 percent to close at 16,690.83 and the S&P 500 sank 94.99 points or 1.73 percent to end at 5,408.42.
For the week, the NASDAQ plummeted 5.8 percent, the Dow tanked 2.9 percent and the S&P tumbled 4.3 percent.
The sell-off on Wall Street came amid concerns about the outlook for the U.S. economy after the Labor Department released a closely watched report showing employment rose by less than expected in the month of August.
While the data is seen as increasing the chances of a 50-basis point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve later this month, traders seemed worried the central bank may have waited too long to prevent the economy from slipping into a recession.
Oil prices fell to an 18-month low on Friday, weighed down persisting concerns about the outlook for oil demand following the disappointing jobs report. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended down by $1.48 or 2.1 percent at $67.67 a barrel.