Rally May Stall For South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, collecting almost 40 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 3,210-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat with a touch of weakness ahead of the U.S. interest rate decision later this week. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Monday as gains from the chemical and automobile companies were capped by weakness from the financial sector and a mixed picture from the technology stocks.

For the day, the index improved 13.47 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 3,209.52. Volume was 500.22 million shares worth 13.83 trillion won. There were 722 gainers and 179 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial tanked 5.62 percent, while KB Financial plummeted 6.99 percent, Hana Financial crashed 8.86 percent, Samsung Electronics surged 6.83 percent, Samsung SDI rallied 2.48 percent, LG Electronics improved 0.91 percent, SK Hynix tumbled 1.50 percent, Naver rose 0.43 percent, LG Chem jumped 1.95 percent, Lotte Chemical perked 0.15 percent, SK Innovation sank 0.79 percent, POSCO Holdings stumbled 2.86 percent, SK Telecom shed 0.54 percent, KEPCO gained 0.64 percent, Hyundai Mobis climbed 1.01 percent, Hyundai Motor advanced 0.92 percent and Kia Motors accelerated 1.34 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened mixed on Monday and finished little changed and on opposite sides of the line.

The Dow slumped 64.36 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 44,837.56, while the NASDAQ gained 70.27 points or 0.33 percent to close at a record high 21,178.58 and the S&P perked 1.13 points or 0.02 percent to end at 6,389.77, also a record.

The modest strength on Wall Street followed news the U.S. and the European Union struck a last-minute trade agreement and reports suggest the U.S. and China are likely to extend their tariff truce for another 90 days.

However, buying interest was subdued ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later this week. While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, the announcement could impact the outlook for rates.

The Labor Department's monthly jobs report is also likely to be in focus in the coming days along with earnings news from Magnificent Seven members Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META).

Crude oil price surged on Monday after the US announced a tariff framework agreement with the EU, cooling fears of a big tariff war. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery jumped $1.72 or 2.64 percent to $66.88 per barrel.