KOSPI May Reclaim 2,700-Point Barrier

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 60 points or 2.2 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,690-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on increased optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were sharply higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares and technology stocks, while the chemical companies were soft and the automobile producers were mixed.

For the day, the index rallied 33.97 points or 1.28 percent to finish at 2,690.14 after trading between 2,674.09 and 2,692.52. Volume was 710 million shares worth 12.6 trillion won. There were 481 gainers and 380 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial jumped 1.99 percent, while KB Financial rallied 1.79 percent, Hana Financial collected 0.98 percent, Samsung Electronics skyrocketed 5.63 percent, Samsung SDI rose 0.44 percent, LG Electronics slid 0.21 percent, SK Hynix tanked 2.31 percent, Naver rose 0.27 percent, LG Chem eased 0.17 percent, Lotte Chemical retreated 1.27 percent, S-Oil shed 0.51 percent, SK Innovation tanked 2.57 percent, POSCO skidded 1.16 percent, SK Telecom fell 0.38 percent, KEPCO lost 0.45 percent, Hyundai Mobis was down 0.20 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 1.47 percent and Kia Motors plunged 2.69 percent.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages opened flat on Wednesday and spent most of the day that way before a late surge boosted them firmly into the green and to record closing highs.

The Dow surged 401.37 points or 1.03 percent to finish at 39,512.13, while the NASDAQ rallied 202.62 points or 1.25 percent to end at 16,369.41 and the S&P 500 gained 46.11 points or 0.89 percent to close at 5,224.62.

The rally on Wall Street came after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged but also maintained its forecast for three rate cuts this year - which had been in some doubt.

The Fed said it again maintained the target range for the federal funds rate at 5.25 to 5.50 percent, but the latest projections suggest Fed officials expect rates to be lowered to a range of 4.50 to 4.75 percent by the end of 2024.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Wednesday as traders chose to take some profits following recent gains, while a firm dollar also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April slumped $1.79 or 2.1 percent at $81.68 a barrel.