Overbought KOPSI Called Higher Again

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in six straight sessions, collecting more than 115 points or 3.7 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 3,260-point plateau and it may extend its gains again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on growing optimism about the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks and chemical companies.

For the day, the index climbed 40.46 points or 1.26 percent to finish at the daily high of 3,260.05 after trading as low as 3,221.98. Volume was 419.02 million shares worth 10.33 trillion won. There were 587 gainers and 289 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 1.40 percent, while KB Financial accelerated 3.00 percent, Hana Financial improved 2.21 percent, Samsung Electronics jumped 2.00 percent, Samsung SDI advanced 0.80 percent, SK Hynix spiked 3.97 percent, Naver increased 1.32 percent, LG Chem surged 6.35 percent, Lotte Chemical soared 4.59 percent, SK Innovation gained 0.76 percent, POSCO Holdings strengthened 1.61 percent, SK Telecom perked 0.18 percent, KEPCO gathered 1.33 percent, Hyundai Mobis tumbled 2.32 percent, Hyundai Motor rose 0.23 percent, Kia Motors added 0.57 percent and LG Electronics was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages shook off early weakness on Tuesday and trended generally higher to finish at record closing highs.

The Dow climbed 196.39 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 45,711.34, while the NASDAQ improved 80.79 points or 0.37 percent to close at 21,193.11 and the S&P 500 gained 17.46 points or 0.27 percent to end at 6,512.61.

The strength on Wall Street reflected ongoing optimism about the outlook for interest rates ahead of closely watched inflation data in the coming days. The Labor Department is scheduled to release reports on producer price inflation and consumer price inflation today and tomorrow, respectively.

While last Friday's weaker-than-expected jobs data increased confidence that the Fed will cut interest rates at its meeting next week, the inflation data could influence how aggressively the central bank lowers rates.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department said non-farm employment for the 12 months through March 2025 was downwardly revised by 911,000 jobs, also fueling optimism for a rate cut.

Crude oil advanced on Tuesday, extending gains for the second day amid increasing expectations of western sanctions against Russia, while the Israeli attack on Qatar added support to oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $0.29 or 0.47 percent at $62.55 per barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will see unemployment data for August later this morning; in July, the jobless rate was 2.5 percent.