The South Korea stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the four-day losing streak in which it had tumbled more than 170 points or 7 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,385-point plateau and it's called higher again on Tuesday,
The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive with continued bargain hunting on the docket after last week's brutal selloff. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.
The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Monday as gains from the finance, steel and technology stocks were limited by weakness from the heavy industrials and automobile producers.
For the day, the index climbed 21.61 points or 0.91 percent to finish at 2,385.38 after trading between 2,346.73 and 2,397.90. Volume was 344.76 million shares worth 6.41 trillion won. There were 458 decliners and 361 gainers.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial climbed 1.15 percent, while Woori Bank collected 1.30 percent, Samsung Electronics spiked 2.28 percent, SK hynix jumped 1.50 percent, LG Electronics added 0.42 percent, Hyundai Motors shed 0.65 percent, Kia Motors lost 0.61 percent, POSCO soared 3.12 percent, Hyundai Steel picked up 0.19 percent, Daewoo Shipbuilding plummeted 5.34 percent and Hyundai Heavy fell 0.38 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is firm as stocks moved mostly higher on Monday, adding to gains from the previous session as the major averages further offset steep losses from early last week.
The Dow soared 410.37 points or 1.70 percent to 24,601.27, while the NASDAQ jumped 107.47 points or 1.56 percent to 6,981.96 and the S&P surged 34.65 points or 1.39 percent to 2,656.00.
The strength on Wall Street came as traders continued to pick up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness, with the major averages climbing further off the two-month lows set last Thursday.
The major averages added to Friday's gains but remain well off their recent record highs. Trading activity remained subdued, however, with a lack of major U.S. economic data keeping traders on the sidelines.
Crude oil futures inched higher Monday, but were unable to hold $60 a barrel despite a rebound for U.S. stocks. March WTI oil settled at $59.29/bbl, up 9 cents or 0.2 percent. Oil prices tumbled 10 percent last week as the EIA lifted its forecasts for 2018 and 2019 U.S. production.
by RTT Staff Writer
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