The South Korea stock market had moved higher in three straight sessions, advancing more than 45 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,615-point plateau although it's likely to see profit taking on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian is soft on nervousness over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The KOSPI finished barely higher on Wednesday as gains from the oil and chemical companies were offset by weakness from the financials and automobile producers, while the technology stocks were mixed.
For the day, the index added 0.19 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 2,615.60 after trading between 2,613.68 and 2,629.92. Volume was 525.8 million shares worth 9.93 trillion won. There were 439 decliners and 422 gainers.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial dipped 0.14 percent, while KB Financial fell 0.31 percent, Hana Financial eased 0.12 percent, Samsung Electronics dropped 0.98 percent, LG Electronics skidded 1.18 percent, SK Hynix shed 0.64 percent, Naver improved 02.4 percent, LG Chem rallied 3.18 percent, Lotte Chemical and S-Oil both jumped 1.21 percent, SK Innovation spiked 3.41 percent, POSCO perked 0.26 percent, SK Telecom rose 0.30 percent, KEPCO retreated 1.38 percent, Hyundai Mobis plunged 3.52 percent, Hyundai Motor tumbled 2.29 percent and Kia Motors plummeted 4.87 percent.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday; the Dow kept bouncing up and down but finished in the green, while the NASDAQ and S&P quickly headed south and remained in the red.
The Dow added 94.93 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 33,668.21, while the NASDAQ dropped 168.22 points or 1.27 percent to end at 13,108.19 and the S&P 500 sank 15.82 points or 0.37 percent to close at 4,268.03.
The sharp pullback by the NASDAQ came after the Bank of Canada once again raised interest rates after leaving rates unchanged for two straight meetings, raising the concerns about the outlook for U.S. rates.
The Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its latest monetary policy decision next Wednesday, with the central bank widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged.
In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit widened significantly in April as the value of exports plummeted.
Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday as Saudi Arabia's recent decision to cut crude output outweighed concerns about demand, while data showing a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week also supported prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $0.79 or 1.1 percent at $72.53 a barrel.
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