KOSPI May Hand Back Wednesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Wednesday's holiday for Independence Day, the South Korea stock market had halted the two-day losing streak in which it had slumped more than 35 points or 1.4 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,410-point plateau although it figures to see renewed selling pressure on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on concerns about growth and the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were mixed to lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and industrials.

For the day, the index added 10.21 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 2,412.85 after trading between 2,407.29 and 2,431.67. Volume was 518.1 million shares worth 8.9 trillion won. There were 504 gainers and 362 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial climbed 1.04 percent, while KB Financial strengthened 1.38 percent, Hana Financial dipped 0.22 percent, Samsung Electronics perked 0.17 percent, Samsung SDI rallied 2.65 percent, LG Electronics declined 1.33 percent, SK Hynix slid 0.67 percent, Naver perked 0.24 percent, LG Chem surged 3.50 percent, Lotte Chemical retreated 1.22 percent, S-Oil sank 0.74 percent, SK Innovation skidded 1.18 percent, POSCO fell 0.31 percent, SK Telecom added 0.44 percent, KEPCO shed 0.61 percent, Hyundai Mobis lost 0.70 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 1.73 percent and Kia Motors dropped 0.92 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is mostly negative as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday in a volatile session, finally ending mixed.

The Dow rose 5.14 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 32,661.84, while the NASDAQ lost 76.06 points or 0.66 percent to close at 11,379.48 and the S&P 500 sank 18.76 points or 0.47 percent to end at 3,951.39.

The choppy trading on Wall Street followed the release of a report from the Institute for Supply Management on U.S. manufacturing activity in February. While the index improved to 47.7 from 47.4 in January, it remained in contraction.

The report also showed the prices index jumped to 51.3 in February from 44.5 in January, indicating a spike in raw materials prices after four months of decline - which added to recent concerns about inflation and the outlook for interest rates.

Treasury yields jumped following the release of the report, with the 10-year yield reaching its highest levels in over three months.

Crude oil futures settled at near two-week high on Wednesday, boosted by upbeat China factory data that raised the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April climbed $0.64 or 0.8 percent at $77.69 a barrel.