Rally May Stall For South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in consecutive trading days, jumping more than 85 points or 3.4 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,400-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with support from oil stocks likely to offset weakness from technology shares. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Monday following gains from the oil, technology and automobile stocks, while the financials were soft.

For the day, the index jumped 35.32 points or 1.49 percent to finish at 2,401.92 after trading between 2,365.86 and 2,418.94. Volume was 501.09 million shares worth 7.52 trillion won. There were 843 gainers and 69 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial shed 0.52 percent, while KB Financial dipped 0.20 percent, Hana Financial retreated 1.24 percent, Samsung Electronics improved 0.68 percent, Samsung SDI rallied 3.45 percent, LG Electronics advanced 0.79 percent, SK Hynix spiked 3.71 percent, Naver gained 0.61 percent, LG Chem perked 0.37 percent, Lotte Chemical jumped 1.87 percent, S-Oil added 0.48 percent, SK Innovation rose 0.25 percent, SK Telecom lost 0.55 percent, KEPCO strengthened 1.56 percent, Hyundai Motor surged 5.78 percent, Kia Motors soared 4.39 percent and POSCO was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages quickly headed south on Monday, rebounded midday and then turned modestly lower again into the close.

The Dow sank 62.42 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 31,438.26, while the NASDAQ shed 83.07 points or 0.72 percent to end at 11,524.55 and the S&P 500 dipped 11.63 points or 0.30 percent to close at 3,900.11.

The volatility came as investors stayed cautious, reassessing the expected path of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes amid falling inflation expectations.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods increased more than expected in May. Also, the National Association of Realtors noted an unexpected rebound in pending home sales in May.

Oil futures settled higher on Monday, extending gains from the previous session amid slightly easing worries about outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $1.95 or 1.8 percent at $109.57 a barrel.