KOSPI May Reclaim 2,600-Point Level

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 50 points or 2 percent. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 2,575-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on bargain hunting and an improved outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow the former lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the technology stocks, chemicals and industrials, while the financials were mixed.

For the day, the index climbed 37.22 points or 1.47 percent to finish at 2,574.82. Volume was 396.7 million shares worth 12.23 trillion won. There were 509 gainers and 354 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial rose 0.33 percent, while KB Financial shed 0.65 percent, Hana Financial collected 2.89 percent, Samsung Electronics rallied 2.43 percent, Samsung SDI jumped 1.91 percent, LG Electronics added 0.49 percent, SK Hynix surged 5.91 percent, Naver improved 0.71 percent, LG Chem soared 5.24 percent, Lotte Chemical gained 0.67 percent, SK Innovation spiked 3.13 percent, POSCO Holdings skyrocketed 5.90 percent, SK Telecom increased 0.54 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 1.33 percent, Kia Motors advanced 0.71 percent and KEPCO and Hyundai Mobis were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday before dipping and then rebounding to finally end mixed.

The Dow sank 82.55 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 41,350.93, while the NASDAQ rallied 212.35 points or 1.22 percent to close at 17,648.45 and the S&P 500 gained 27.23 points or 0.49 percent to end at 5,599.30.

The early strength on Wall Street followed the release of the closely watched Labor Department report showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased slightly less than expected in February.

The tamer-than-expected inflation data led to some optimism about the Federal Reserve resuming interest rate cuts in the near future.

Buying interest was somewhat subdued, however, as concerns about the impact of new trade policies continue to weigh on the markets.

Oil prices moved higher on Wednesday after data showed a smaller than expected increase in U.S. crude oil inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April closed higher by $1.43 or 2.16 percent at $67.68 a barrel.