Mild Upside Seen For South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Tuesday, one day after ending the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 35 points or 1.4 percent. The KOSPI market now rests just beneath the 2,480-point plateau and it may inch higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is erratic and seemingly at the mercy of quarterly earnings, which have varied greatly so far this earnings season. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

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

For the day, the index gained 14.26 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 2,478.61. Volume was 461 million shares worth 7.87 trillion won. There were 482 gainers and 379 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial surged 4.98 percent, while KB Financial soared 4.26 percent, Hana Financial rallied 4.00 percent, Samsung Electronics rose 0.13 percent, Samsung SDI perked 0.14 percent, LG Electronics increased 2.85 percent, SK Hynix retreated 1.26 percent, Naver added 0.46 percent, LG Chem advanced 1.03 percent, Lotte Chemical spiked 3.09 percent, S-Oil jumped 1.84 percent, SK Innovation strengthened 1.39 percent, POSCO climbed 1.13 percent, SK Telecom sank 0.71 percent, KEPCO dropped 0.87 percent, Hyundai Mobis collected 3.02 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 2.61 percent and Kia Motors improved 0.80 percent.

The lead from Wall Street provides little clarity as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and closed the same way.

The Dow sank 96.36 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 37,905.45, while the NASDAQ added 65.66 points or 0.43 percent to close at 15,425.94 and the S&P 500 rose 14.17 points or 0.29 percent to end at a fresh record of 4,864.60.

The choppy trading on Wall Street reflected a mixed reaction to the latest earnings news from several big-name companies.

The Dow pulled back off Monday's record closing high amid a steep drop by shares of 3M (MMM), which offered disappointing guidance. Healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) also slumped despite reporting better than expected results.

Meanwhile, shares of telecom giant Verizon (VZ) and consumer products giant Procter & Gamble (PG) surged after reporting better than expected earnings news.

Crude oil futures eased Tuesday amid uncertainty about the outlook for global oil demand and after Libya restarted production at the Sharara oilfield, which was shut for two weeks due to protests. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March fell $0.39 or 0.5 percent at $74.37 a barrel.