The South Korea stock market has finished higher in two straight sessions, advancing more than 50 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 3,180-point plateau and it's tipped to extend its gains on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian suggests mild upside, with optimism for economic recovery offset by the latest coronavirus surge in Japan and India. The European and U.S. markets finished higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the financials and oil and chemical companies - while the technology stocks were down and the industrials were mixed.
For the day, the index jumped 31.37 points or 1 percent to finish at the daily high of 3,178.74 after moving as low as 3,133.64. Volume was 1.2 billion shares worth 16.4 trillion won. There were 733 gainers and 157 decliners.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial spiked 4.46 percent, while KB Financial skyrocketed 7.88 percent, Hana Financial surged 5.94 percent, Samsung Electronics shed 0.36 percent, LG Electronics tumbled 1.94 percent, SK Hynix tanked 2.27 percent, Naver sank 0.82 percent, LG Chem jumped 1.96 percent, Lotte Chemical rallied 5.37 percent, S-Oil accelerated 4.14 percent, SK Innovation improved 2.93 percent, POSCO soared 5.05 percent, SK Telecom added 0.65 percent, KEPCO climbed 1.07 percent, Kia Motors lost 0.87 percent and Hyundai Motor was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as stocks shrugged off early weakness on Thursday to finish in the green.
The Dow jumped 318.19 points or 0.93 percent to finish at 34,548.53, while the NASDAQ gained 50.42 points or 0.37 percent to end at 13,632.84 and the S&P 500 climbed 34.03 points or 0.82 percent to close at 4,201.62.
The strength on Wall Street followed a Labor Department report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell much more than expected last week.
Later today, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly employment report for April.
Crude oil futures finished lower on Thursday, extending losses from previous session amid worries about outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June were down $0.92 or 1.4 percent at $64.71 a barrel.
Closer to home, South Korea will provide March data for current account later today; in February, the current account surplus was $8.03 billion.
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