Higher Open Called For South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Tuesday snapped the two-day slide in which it had plummeted almost 160 points or 4 percent. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 3,860-point plateau and it's likely to open to the upside again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and technology stocks, while the chemicals were soft.

For the day, the index gained 11.72 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 3,857.78 after trading between 3,833.35 and 3,946.61. Volume was 275.5 million shares worth 13.1 trillion won. There were 553 decliners and 325 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial strengthened 1.57 percent, while KB Financial collected 1.16 percent, Hana Financial improved 1.45 percent, Samsung Electronics rallied 2.69 percent, Samsung SDI climbed 1.25 percent, LG Electronics accelerated 1.43 percent, SK Hynix eased 0.19 percent, Naver plunged 3.07 percent, LG Chem increased 1.26 percent, SK Innovation fell 0.27 percent, POSCO Holdings shed 0.50 percent, SK Telecom skidded 1.11 percent, KEPCO skyrocketed 6.85 percent, Hyundai Motor gained 0.84 percent, Kia Motors perked 0.09 percent and Lotte Chemical and Hyundai Mobis were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday but then trended to the upside throughout the session, ending near daily highs.

The Dow surged 664.18 points or 1.43 percent to finish at 47,112.45, while the NASDAQ added 153.59 points or 0.67 percent to end at 23,025.59 and the S&P 500 climbed 60.76 points or 0.91 percent to close at 6,765.88.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street reflected renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates following recent dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials as well as the latest U.S. economic data.

The Commerce Department said retail sales in the U.S. increased less than expected in September, while the Conference Board also released a report showing a substantial deterioration by U.S. consumer confidence in November.

Payroll processor ADP released a report showing U.S. private sector employers shed an average of 13,500 jobs per week in the four weeks ending November 8th compared to an average loss of 2,500 jobs in the previous four-week period.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool indicates the chances the Fed will cut interest rates by another quarter point next month have surged to 82.7 percent from 50.1 percent a week ago.

Crude oil prices slumped on Tuesday on reports that a revised Russia-Ukraine peace plan has been accepted by Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was down $0.96 or 1.61 percent at $57.89 per barrel.