Ahead of the long holiday weekend for the Lunar New Year, the South Korea stock market had moved higher in two straight sessions, collecting almost 45 points or 1.8 percent in that span. The KOSPI market now rests just above the 2,620-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement, with many countries still off for the Lunar New Year holiday. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financials and mixed performances from the technology and industrial sectors.
For the day, the index gained 10.74 points or 0.41 percent to finish at 2,620.32 after trading between 2,610.21 and 2,629.51. Volume was 422.7 million shares worth 12.2 trillion won. There were 451 gainers and 436 decliners.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial soared 3.03 percent, while KB Financial surged 4.48 percent, Hana Financial jumped 1.80 percent, Samsung Electronics retreated 1.20 percent, Samsung SDI gained 0.79 percent, LG Electronics sank 0.71 percent, SK Hynix spiked 3.48 percent, Naver increased 0.73 percent, LG Chem strengthened 1.51 percent, Lotte Chemical stumbled 1.97 percent, S-Oil shed 0.57 percent, POSCO improved 0.78 percent, SK Telecom dropped 0.97 percent, KEPCO tumbled 2.16 percent, Hyundai Mobis added 0.66 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 2.04 percent, Kia Motors declined 1.31 percent and SK Innovation was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened flat, quickly moved higher but then faded, with only the Dow holding its gains and hitting a fresh record close.
The Dow gained 125.69 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 38,797.38, while the NASDAQ sank 48.12 points or 0.30 percent to close at 15,942.54 and the S&P 500 eased 4.77 points or 0.09 percent to end at 5,021.84.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders took a breather following recent strength, which has lifted the S&P 500 above 5,000 for the first time. The NASDAQ has also shown a significant advance in recent sessions, closing in on the record highs set in November 2021.
A lack of major U.S. economic data also kept some traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of several key reports in the coming days. Later today, the Labor Department is due to release its report on consumer price inflation for January, which could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.
Treasuries fluctuated on Monday before eventually ending the day modestly higher. After an early move to the upside, bond prices gave back ground but rebounded in the afternoon. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, eased 1.5 basis points to 4.172 percent.
Crude oil futures settled roughly flat on Monday as demand concerns outweighed potential supply disruptions. The dollar's recovery from lower levels also weighed on prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March settled at $76.92 a barrel, up $0.08 from the previous close.
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