The South Korea stock market on Monday halted the four-day losing streak in which it had stumbled more than 45 points or 1.9 percent. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,480-point plateau and it's tipped to open higher again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on hopes the Republican-manufactured U.S. debt ceiling situation can soon be resolved. The European and U.S. markets were slightly higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.
The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Monday following gains from the financials and mixed performances from the technology, auto, oil and chemical sectors.
For the day, the index rose 3.93 points or 0.16 percent to finish at the daily high of 2,479.35 after trading as low as 2,455.99. Volume was 475.7 million shares worth 6.8 trillion won. There were 549 decliners and 315 gainers.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial rose 0.29 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.41 percent, Hana Financial perked 0.12 percent, Samsung Electronics added 0.62 percent, Samsung SDI strengthened 1.35 percent, LG Electronics lost 0.27 percent, SK Hynix dropped 0.92 percent, Naver declined 0.70 percent, LG Chem increased 0.44 percent, Lotte Chemical retreated 1.53 percent, S-Oil advanced 0.84 percent, SK Innovation slumped 0.62 percent, POSCO improved 1.24 percent, SK Telecom added 0.20 percent, KEPCO tumbled 2.13 percent, Hyundai Motor fell 0.24 percent, Kia Motors gained 0.67 percent and Hyundai Mobis was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages opened lower on Monday, stagnated for a bit and then finally crept up into positive territory.
The Dow added 47.98 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 33,348.60, while the NASDAQ jumped 80.47 points or 0.66 percent to close at 12,365.21 and the S&P 500 rose 12.20 points or 0.30 percent to end at 4,136.28.
The higher close on Wall Street may partly have reflected optimism about an eventual agreement on raising the U.S. debt following comments from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
Yellen said the administration and congressional Republicans are making progress in their negotiations over federal spending and raising the debt limit.
In economic news, the New York Fed released a report this morning showing a strong downturn in regional manufacturing activity in May.
Crude oil prices climbed higher Monday, riding on prospects of lower supplies in Canada and elsewhere, while a weaker dollar also contributed to oil's uptick. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June gained $1.07 or 1.5 percent at $71.11 a barrel after three days of losses.
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