KOSPI May Challenge Resistance At 2,500 Points

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Wednesday, one day after halting the six-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 55 points or 2.4 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,460-point plateau and it's tipped to add to its winnings on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing fears of a worldwide economic slowdown. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the chemical companies and automobile producers, while the financials and technology stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index advanced 21.83 points or 0.89 percent to finish at the daily high of 2,461.45 after moving as low as 2,433.12. Volume was 463.71 million shares worth 6.6 trillion won. There were 576 gainers and 266 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial rose 0.28 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.42 percent, Hana Financial dipped 0.14 percent, Woori Financial advanced 0.85 percent, Samsung Electronics slid 0.65 percent, Samsung SDI spiked 2.45 percent, LG Electronics gathered 0.32 percent, SK Hynix climbed 1.04 percent, Naver soared 3.86 percent, LG Chem improved 0.66 percent, Lotte Chem increased 0.56 percent, S-Oil lost 0.45 percent, SK Innovation rallied 2.78 percent, POSCO fell 0.21 percent, SK Telecom added 0.57 percent, KEPCO gained 0.46 percent, Hyundai Motor was up 0.25 percent, Hyundai Mobis jumped 1.99 percent and Kia Corporation perked 0.12 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened firmly in the green and accelerated as the session progressed.

The Dow surged 416.33 points or 1.29 percent to finish at 32,812.50, while the NASDAQ spiked 319.40 points or 2.59 percent to end at 12,668.16 and the S&P 500 sank 63.98 points or 1.56 percent to close at 4,155.17.

The rebound on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to some upbeat U.S. economic data, which helped ease concerns about a recession.

The Institute for Supply Management noted an unexpected acceleration in the pace of growth in U.S. services sector activity in July. Also, the Commerce Department saw a sharp increase in new orders for U.S. manufactured goods in June.

Crude oil prices fell sharply Wednesday after data showed an unexpected surge in U.S. crude inventories last week. The dollar's strength after hawkish comments from a few Fed officials also weighed on oil prices.

Also, OPEC+ agreed to a tiny increase in output next month amid fears that a global recession will crimp demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for September sank $3.76 or 4 percent at $90.66 a barrel.