KOSPI Due For Profit Taking On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished higher in two straight sessions, accelerating more than 50 points or 2.2 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,375-point plateau, although investors may cash in on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with profit taking expected amid concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down, and the Asian markets are tipped to trend generally lower as well.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Monday following gains from the financials, technology stocks and oil and chemical companies.

For the day, the index spiked 44.27 points or 1.90 percent to finish at 2,375.25 after trading between 2,344.12 and 2,376.50. Volume was 318.99 million shares worth 6.99 trillion won. There were 778 gainers and 116 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial soared 3.74 percent, while KB Financial surged 4.77 percent, Hana Financial accelerated 5.17 percent, Samsung Electronics spiked 3.17 percent, Samsung SDI fell 0.36 percent, LG Electronics gathered 1.76 percent, SK Hynix rallied 2.33 percent. Naver skyrocketed 6.71 percent, LG Chem added 0.59 percent, Lotte Chemical increased 2.11 percent, S-Oil advanced 3.82 percent, SK Innovation strengthened 1.47 percent, POSCO perked 1.12 percent, SK Telecom jumped 2.24 percent, KEPCO gained 0.93 percent, Hyundai Motor climbed 1.09 percent and Kia Motors improved 1.26 percent.

The lead from Wall Street ends up negative as the major averages couldn't hold on to early gains, sinking as the day progressed to close firmly in the red.

The Dow tumbled 215.65 points or 0.69 percent to finish at 31,072.61, while the NASDAQ sank 92.37 points or 0.81 percent to end at 11,360.05 and the S&P 500 lost 32.31 points or 0.84 percent to close at 3,830.85.

The early strength on Wall Street came as traders continued to pick up stocks at reduced levels, while positive sentiment was also generated in reaction to upbeat earnings news from Goldman Sachs (GS) and others.

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as traders continued to worry about the economic outlook ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting.

In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Home Builders released a report showing a substantial deterioration in U.S. homebuilder confidence in the month of July.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Monday with traders assessing crude supply levels amid concerns over gas supply from Russia. A weak dollar also contributed significantly to the jump in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for August ended higher by $5.01 or 5.1 percent at $102.60 a barrel.