KOSPI May Challenge Resistance At 2,900 Points

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished higher in five straight sessions, collecting more than 175 points or 6.4 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,870-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is hopeful on continuing trade talks between the United States and China. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

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

For the day, the index gained 16.08 points or 0.56 percent to finish at 2,871.85. Volume was 503 million shares worth 14 trillion won. There were 461 decliners and 429 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.83 percent, while KB Financial perked 0.18 percent, Hana Financial advanced 0.90 percent, Samsung Electronics dropped 1.00 percent, Samsung SDI fell 0.29 percent, LG Electronics climbed 1.10 percent, SK Hynix added 0.66 percent, Naver improved 0.76 percent, LG Chem spiked 2.48 percent, Lotte Chemical skyrocketed 8.60 percent, SK Innovation increased 1.07 percent, POSCO Holdings strengthened 1.55 percent, SK Telecom lost 0.56 percent, KEPCO plummeted 10.15 percent, Hyundai Mobis slumped 1.61 percent, Hyundai Motor shed 0.40 percent and Kia Motors sank 0.84 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened mixed but generally tracked higher throughout the day to end with modest gains.

The Dow climbed 105.11 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 42,866.87, while the NASDAQ gained 123.75 points or 0.63 percent to close at 19,714.99 and the S&P 500 added 32.93 points or 0.55 percent to end at 6,038.81.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street came amid optimism as traders awaited the outcome of the ongoing trade talks between China and the U.S. in London.

Trade negotiations between the world's two largest economies commenced on Monday - and while U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters the talks are "going well," there has been no breakthrough as of yet.

In economic news, the National Federation of Independent Business said the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index in the US increased to 98.8 in May 2025, the highest in three months, compared to 95.8 in April. The reading was expected to come in with a score of 95.9.

Crude oil prices were down on Tuesday amidst uncertainty over trade talks between China and the United States continued, although the outcome remains uncertain. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for July delivery closed down by $0.31 to settle at $64.98 per barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will see unemployment data for May later this morning; in April, the jobless rate was 2.7 percent.