KOSPI Set to Rebound Friday After Profit-Taking Snaps Six-Day Rally

South Korea's KOSPI is expected to bounce higher on Friday after ending its six-day winning streak, a run that had added more than 320 points, or 8.6 percent, to reach a record closing high. The index now sits just beneath the 3,850-point plateau, with positive global cues from European and U.S. markets pointing to a firmer open for Asian bourses. The index fell 38.12 points, or 0.98 percent, to close Thursday at 3,845.56, trading between 3,822.33 and 3,902.21 on volume of 418.6 million shares worth 16 trillion won. Decliners outnumbered gainers 608 to 259 as profit-taking hit finance, technology, chemical and automobile stocks. Naver plunged 5.09 percent, KEPCO dropped 3.99 percent, Hyundai Motor fell 3.45 percent and Samsung Electronics lost 2.13 percent, while POSCO Holdings added 0.16 percent and LG Electronics gained 0.67 percent. On Wall Street, the Dow rose 0.31 percent to 46,734.61, the NASDAQ gained 0.89 percent to 22,941.80 and the S&P 500 added 0.58 percent to 6,738.44. Crude oil surged 5.50 percent to $61.72 a barrel after the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russian oil majors.