Rally May Stall For South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting more than 25 points or 1 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,550-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft thanks to concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Wednesday as gains from the shipbuilders were capped by weakness from the chemicals and automobile producers, while the financials and technology stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index gained 9.34 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 2,548.39 after trading between 2,528.74 and 2,549.58. Volume was 453.32 million shares worth 13.19 trillion won. There were 551 decliners and 332 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial skidded 1.02 percent, while KB Financial tanked 2.61 percent, Hana Financial collected 0.50 percent, Samsung Electronics rose 0.18 percent, Samsung SDI sank 0.71 percent, LG Electronics dropped 0.75 percent, SK Hynix shed 0.40 percent, Naver retreated 1.53 percent, LG Chem declined 0.68 percent, Lotte Chemical slumped 1.66 percent, Hyundai Heavy skyrocketed 15.36 percent, Hanwha Ocean soared 15.17 percent, SK Innovation retreated 0.92 percent, POSCO Holdings stumbled 1.91 percent, Hyundai Mobis surrendered 2.41 percent, Hyundai Motor lost 0.65 percent, Kia Motors tumbled 2.24 percent and SK Telecom and KEPCO were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened lower and largely stayed that way, although the NASDAQ peeked up into the green by the close.

The Dow dropped 225.09 points or 0.50 percent to finish at 44,368.56, while the NASDAQ perked 6.10 points or 0.03 percent to close at 19,649.95 and the S&P 500 lost 16.53 points or 0.27 percent to end at 6,051.97.

The early sell-off on Wall Street came following the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased by more than expected in January.

The hotter than expected inflation data increased speculation the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates on hold for a prolonged period.

Oil prices fell sharply on Wednesday, weighed down by data showing a larger than expected increase in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures settled lower by $1.95 or about 2.66 percent at $71.37 a barrel, falling after three successive days of gains.