Korean shares’ direction next week will most likely be affected by rising oil prices and lingering worries over the eurozone debt problems, analysts said Saturday.

The benchmark KOSPI ended this week at 2,019.89, down 0.17 percent or 3.58 points from a week earlier.

The KOSPI got off to a strong start, driven by the news that China lowered the reserve ratio for its banks.

During the week, Wall Street rallies also bolstered investor sentiment here as the Dow Jones industrial average cracked the 13,000 mark for the first time in about four years.

But the KOSPI, which once exceeded 2,040 points, lost ground later as investors unloaded their holdings to take profit from the short-term upswings and worries about a default by Greece.

Oil prices were also a drag on the stock markets as higher energy costs are feared to derail the nation’s overall economy recovery. Korea, the world’s fifth-largest oil purchaser, depends on imports for almost all of its oil needs.

As of Thursday, Dubai crude oil was trading at $121.57 per barrel. Oil prices have been on the rise, mostly driven by tensions between Iran and Western countries, and spiking demand from such emerging countries as China and India.

Analysts said that investors will keep paying close attention to which direction international oil prices go.

“As the outlooks for oil prices are not that optimistic, it would be difficult for the stock market to stage a strong gain next week,” said Lee Seung-woo, an analyst at Daewoo Securities Co.

The eurozone’s debt problems are also expected to remain as a major direction-setting factor, though finance ministers in the region recently decided to offer a second package of rescue money to debt-ridden Greece, analysts added. 

(Yonhap News)