KOSPI May Extend Tuesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Tuesday halted the two-day slide in which it had plummeted more than 750 points or 11 percent. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 6,750-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive thanks to solid earnings news. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Tuesday thanks to bargain hunting primarily among the chip makers and other technology stocks.

For the day, the index rallied 231.68 points or 3.56 percent to finish at 6,747.95. Volume was 387.8 million shares worth 24.5 trillion won. There were 484 gainers and 380 decliners.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and remained in the green throughout the trading day, ending near session highs.

The Dow jumped 385.38 points or 0.74 percent to finish at 52,224.64, while the NASDAQ advanced 329.13 points or 1.29 percent to end at 25,837.21 and the S&P 500 gained 65.92 points or 0.89 percent to close at 7,509.20.

A positive reaction to some of the latest earnings news inspired traders to pick up stocks such as 3M (MMM), General Motors (GM) and Novartis (NVS) at reduced levels.

Strength among technology stocks also contributed to the rally, as reflected by the jump by the tech-heavy NASDAQ, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index soaring 5.9 percent and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumping 5.2 percent.

Crude oil prices spiked on Tuesday as the U.S. attacked Iran for the 10th straight day, reinforcing supply concerns due to the Strait of Hormuz crisis. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was up $1.77 or 2.13 percent at $85.00 per barrel.