Ahead of Wednesday's holiday for Children's Day, the South Korea stock market had ended the five-day losing streak in which it had stumbled more than 85 points or 2.8 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 3,150-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the red on Thursday as it catches up on missed sentiment.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with bargain hunting likely amid optimism for a strong economic rebound. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the oil, chemical and industrial stocks, while the financials and technology companies were mixed.
For the day, the index gained 20.17 points or 0.64 percent to finish at 3,147.37 after trading between 3,109.78 and 3,147.38. Volume was 1.3 billion shares worth 15.6 trillion won. There were 433 decliners and 422 gainers.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.51 percent, while KB Financial shed 0.71 percent, Hana Financial fell 0.46 percent, Samsung Electronics climbed 1.10 percent, LG Electronics sank 0.32 percent, SK Hynix added 0.38 percent, Naver gained 0.41 percent, LG Chem jumped 1.43 percent, Lotte Chemical improved 0.70 percent, S-Oil spiked 2.00 percent, SK Innovation skyrocketed 7.05 percent, POSCO rallied 2.31 percent, SK Telecom advanced 1.15 percent, KEPCO dipped 0.43 percent, Hyundai Motor soared 2.52 percent and Kia Motors gathered 1.00 percent.
The lead from Wall Street shows a positive bias as stocks fluctuated on Wednesday before ending on opposite sides of the unchanged line.
The Dow gained 97.31 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 34,230.34, while the NASDAQ lost 51.08 points or 0.37 percent to end at 13,582.42 and the S&P 500 rose 2.93 points or 0.07 percent to close at 4,167.59.
Strong gains by Dow Inc. (DOW), Chevron (CVX) and Merck (MRK) helped lift the Dow to a new record closing high.
In economic news, payroll processor ADP said private sector job growth accelerated in April but missed expectations. Also, the Institute for Supply Management noted an unexpected slowdown in the pace of U.S. service sector activity last month.
Crude oil futures dipped slightly on Wednesday as traders weighed global energy demand amid a continued surge in coronavirus cases in Asia. A sharp decline in U.S. crude inventories limited the downside. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June eased $0.06 at $65.63 a barrel.
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