The South Korea stock market has tracked higher in two straight sessions, advancing almost 40 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 3,170-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside, supported by technology and crude oil stocks. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the technology stocks and automobile producers, while the financials and oil and chemical stocks were mixed.
For the day, the index climbed 33.49 points or 1.07 percent to finish at 3,169.08 after trading between 3,136.99 and 3,173.26. Volume was 1.7 billion shares worth 16.1 trillion won. There were 477 gainers and 358 decliners.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial shed 0.40 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.19 percent, Hana Financial dropped 0.84 percent, Samsung Electronics advanced 0.96 percent, LG Electronics gathered 0.64 percent, SK Hynix climbed 1.45 percent, Naver gained 0.78 percent, LG Chem surged 6.24 percent, Lotte Chemical retreated 0.69 percent, S-Oil sank 0.51 percent, SK Innovation spiked 3.94 percent, POSCO lost 0.76 percent, SK Telecom soared 6.01 percent, KEPCO rose 0.21 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 1.77 percent and Kia Motors jumped 1.42 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages moved steadily higher on Tuesday after a mixed start, although the Dow failed to make it out of negative territory.
The Dow sank 68.13 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 33,677.27, while the NASDAQ jumped 146.10 points or 1.05 percent to end at 13,996.10 and the S&P 500 gained 13.60 points or 0.33 percent to close at 4,141.59.
Early selling pressure resulted after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday announced a temporarily halt on the usage of Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) Covid-19 vaccine after six recipients developed a rare blood clotting disorder.
But the markets staged a recovery on optimism ahead of quarterly earnings later this week and going forward.
In economic news, the Labor Department said annual inflation rose slightly less than expected but saw a sharp monthly increase thanks to a spike in gasoline prices.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Tuesday, lifted by an upward revision in energy demand forecast by OPEC. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $0.48 or 0.8 percent at $60.18 a barrel.
Closer to home, the Bank of Korea said this morning that export prices in South Korea were up 3.3 percent on month in March, slowing from 3.5 percent in February. On a yearly basis, export prices advanced 5.6 percent after rising just 0.6 percent in the previous month. Import prices were up 3.4 percent on month and 9.0 percent on year.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
