Overbought KOSPI Called Higher Again On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market rebounded hard on Monday, one session after ending the three-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 220 points or 3.4 percent. Now at a fresh record closing high, the KOSPI sits just beneath the 6,940-point and it has a positive lead again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, thanks to easing crude oil prices. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished with huge gains on Monday thanks to the technology sector, while the automobile producers also were strong. Chemicals were mixed and the financials were weak.

For the day, the index skyrocketed 338.12 points or 5.12 percent to finish at the daily high of 6,937.00 after opening at 6,741.63. Volume was 864.3 million shares worth 41.3 trillion won. There were 473 decliners and 392 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial tumbled 1.90 percent, while KB Financial retreated 1.68 percent, Hana Financial skidded 1.02 percent, Samsung Electronics surged 5.44 percent, Samsung SDI rose 0.42 percent, LG Electronics vaulted 1.63 percent, SK Hynix skyrocketed 12.52 percent, Naver dropped 0.95 percent, LG Chem soared 8.06 percent, Lotte Chemical plummeted 6.76 percent, SK Innovation fell 0.34 percent, POSCO Holdings rallied 8.66 percent, SK Telecom jumped 2.42 percent, KEPCO strengthened 2.18 percent, Hyundai Mobis expanded 1.53 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 1.51 percent and Kia Motors gained 1.45 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages started higher and picked up steam as the day progressed, finishing near daily highs.

The Dow jumped 356.35 points or 073 percent to finish at 49,298.25, while the NASDAQ rallied 258.32 points or 1.03 percent to end at a record 25,326.13 and the S&P 500 gained 58.47 points or 0.81 percent to close at 7,259.22, also a record.

The strength on Wall Street came amid a sharp pullback by the price of crude oil, with U.S. crude oil futures plunging by more than 3 percent after spiking by more than 4 percent on Monday.

Crude oil prices plummeted on Tuesday after U.S. attempts to unblock Strait of Hormuz traffic boosted market sentiments and eased supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was down $3.80 or 3.57 percent at $102.62 per barrel.

A positive reaction to some of the latest earnings news also contributed to the strength on Wall Street, led by Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD), which handily beat the street.

In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Institute for Supply Management showed a slight slowdown in the pace of growth in U.S. service sector activity in the month of April.

Closer to home, South Korea will provide April numbers for consumer prices later this morning, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 0.5 percent on month and 2.6 percent on year. That follows the 0.3 percent monthly increase and the 2.2 percent yearly gain in March.