The South Korea stock market has moved lower in back-to-back trading days, tumbling more than 95 points or 3 percent along the way. Now at a seven-month low, the KOSPI now sits just above the 2,960-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is solid, with energy stocks expected to lead the markets higher. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.
The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Tuesday as the financial shares, technology stocks, industrials and chemicals all ended under pressure.
For the day, the index tanked 57.01 points or 1.89 percent to finish at 2,962.17 after trading between 2,940.59 and 2,998.17. Volume was 830 million shares worth 15.1 trillion won. There were 702 decliners and 202 gainers.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial sank 0.76 percent, while KB Financial shed 0.72 percent, Hana Financial retreated 1.64 percent, Samsung Electronics skidded 1.37 percent, LG Electronics was down 1.59 percent, SK Hynix tumbled 2.10 percent, Naver tanked 3.01 percent, Samsung SDI plunged 3.82 percent, LG Chem surrendered 2.99 percent, Lotte Chemical stumbled 2.69 percent, S-Oil jumped 1.81 percent, SK Innovation added 0.57 percent, POSCO fell 0.62 percent, SK Telecom declined 2.14 percent, KEPCO and Kia Company both slid 0.64 percent and Hyundai Motor was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and continued to pickup steam as the day progressed, ending solidly in the green.
The Dow surged 311.75 points or 0.92 percent to finish at 34,314.67, while the NASDAQ jumped 178.35 points or 1.25 percent to close at 14,433.83 and the S&P 500 climbed 45.26 points or 1.05 percent to end at 4,345.72.
The rally on Wall Street came as traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels following Monday's sell-off.
In economic news, the Institute for Supply said activity in the U.S. service sector unexpectedly accelerated in September. Also, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected in August.
Crude oil prices advanced Tuesday, extending recent gains after OPEC decided to stick to its plan of gradually raising crude production. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November gained $1.31 or 1.7 percent at $78.93 a barrel, a fresh seven-year high.
Closer to home, South Korea will release September figures for consumer prices later this morning, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 0.25 percent on month and 2.25 percent on year. That's down from 0.6 percent on month and 2.6 percent on year in August.
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