The South Korea stock market has finished higher in back-to-back trading days, collecting almost 40 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 3,250-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian is upbeat, with support expected from oil, technology and utility stocks. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Friday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and oil and chemical companies.
For the day, the index added 4.21 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 3,254.42 after trading between 3,246.09 and 3,264.01. Volume was 761 million shares worth 12.7 trillion won. There were 457 gainers and 350 decliners.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial fell 0.26 percent, while KB Financial advanced 0.77 percent, Hana Financial collected 0.46 percent, Samsung Electronics shed 0.50 percent, LG Electronics jumped 1.52 percent, SK Hynix sank 0.84 percent, Naver spiked 2.73 percent, LG Chem rose 0.24 percent, Lotte Chemical slid 0.37 percent, S-Oil lost 0.41 percent, SK Innovation climbed 0.96 percent, POSCO rallied 2.17 percent, SK Telecom retreated 1.45 percent, Hyundai Motor skidded 1.31 percent, Kia Motors declined 1.14 percent and KEPCO was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Friday and picked up steam as the day progressed, accelerating to fresh record closing highs.
The Dow jumped 238.20 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 35,061.55, while the NASDAQ climbed 152.39 points or 1.04 percent to end at 14,836.99 and the S&P 500 gained 44.31 points or 1.01 percent to close at 4,411.79. For the week, the Dow jumped 1.1 percent, the NASDAQ spiked 2.8 percent and the S&P rose 2 percent.
The four-day winning streak represents a remarkable turnaround for the markets following the sell-off on Monday, which dragged the major averages down to their lowest closing levels in almost a month.
The continued strength on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to upbeat earnings news from several big-name companies, including Snap (SNAP), Twitter (TWTR) and American Express (AXP), although Intel (INTC) disappointed.
Crude oil futures settled modestly higher Friday, extending gains to a fourth straight session on hopes demand will see a significant increase in coming months. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended up by $0.16 or 0.2 percent at $72.07 a barrel. WTI Crude futures gained 0.4 percent in the week.
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