Rally May Stall For South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, advancing more than 40 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just shy of the 2,490-point plateau although it's likely to run out of steam on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on continuing concerns over the possibility of a trade war. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index rose 5.00 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 2,488.42 after trading between 2,479.23 and 2,498.84. Volume was 423.58 million shares worth 5.18 trillion won. There were 499 gainers and 370 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial spiked 2.20 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.49 percent, Hana Financial strengthened 1.53 percent, Samsung Electronics perked 0.18 percent, Samsung SDI retreated 1.22 percent, LG Electronics added 0.43 percent, SK Hynix improved 0.91 percent, LG Chem slumped 1.12 percent, Lotte Chemical climbed 0.99 percent, SK Innovation skidded 1.07 percent, POSCO sank 0.79 percent, SK Telecom gained 0.52 percent, KEPCO surged 4.12 percent, Hyundai Mobis gathered 0.21 percent, Hyundai Motor was up 0.05 percent, Kia Motors advanced 0.80 percent and Naver was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is brutal as the major averages opened sharply lower on Monday and remained deep in the red throughout the session.

The Dow plummeted 971.82 points or 2.48 percent to finish at 38,170.41, while the NASDAQ tumbled 415.55 points or 2.55 percent to close at 16,870.37 and the S&P 500 dropped 124.50 points or 2.36 percent to end at 5,158.20.

The sell-off on Wall Street came amid lingering concerns about a global trade war as traders await signs of progress from President Donald Trump's trade talks.

Potentially adding to the worries, China has threatened to retaliate against any countries that reach a trade deal with the U.S. at the expense of China's interests.

Trump's continued attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell added to the negative sentiment; he called on the Fed to lower rates last week, declaring, "Powell's termination cannot come fast enough!"

Crude oil prices pulled back sharply Monday on reports of progress in negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, while trade war concerns also weighed. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery plunged $1.60 or 2.5 percent to $63.08 a barrel.