Seoul Bourse Stages Rebound, But Headwinds Loom for Friday Trading

South Korea’s stock market bounced back sharply on Thursday, erasing a brutal two-session slide that had wiped out roughly 160 points (4%). The KOSPI reclaimed the critical 4,000-level, closing at 4,004.85—up 75.34 points or 1.92%—after hitting lows of 4,001.31 intraday.

What drove the rally:

Tech giants led the charge: Samsung Electronics popped 4.25%, while SK Hynix (+1.60%) and Naver (+3.42%) also delivered solid gains. Steelmakers weren’t left behind—POSCO Holdings jumped 2.55% and KEPCO spiked 3.60%. Auto and financials? Lagging. Hyundai Motor slipped 0.76%, while KB Financial gave back 0.82%.

Volume story: 355.8 million shares traded, worth 14.9 trillion won. Breadth favored buyers with 749 gainers vs. 141 decliners.

But here’s the catch: Friday could be rough. Wall Street’s overnight tumble—Nasdaq down 2.15%, S&P 500 off 1.56%—is a warning sign. Despite Nvidia’s blockbuster earnings beating expectations, the broader market tanked over rate-cut doubts. The September jobs report threw a curveball: unemployment ticked up, but job growth crushed forecasts. Result? Market odds of a Fed rate cut in December collapsed from 98.8% a month ago to just 39.8%. That’s the kind of uncertainty that keeps Asian traders up at night.

Crude also weakened—WTI futures for December slipped 0.44% to $59.18/barrel amid Ukraine peace talk chatter.

The verdict: Seoul’s bounce feels fragile. Without fresh catalysts, expect profit-taking and potential follow-through selling on tech exposure if U.S. markets remain under pressure.