Rally May Stall For South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has tracked higher in back-to-back sessions, rallying more than 110 points or 2.8 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 4,220-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with profit taking expected ahead of the end of the year. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

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

For the day, the index soared 90.88 points or 2.20 percent to finish at 4,220.56. Volume was 497.51 million shares worth 14.35 trillion won. There were 571 gainers and 316 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 1.43 percent, while KB Financial improved 0.80 percent, Hana Financial expanded 1.17 percent, Samsung Electronics rallied 2.14 percent, Samsung SDI retreated 1.43 percent, LG Electronics rose 0.22 percent, SK Hynix surged 6.84 percent, Naver spiked 4.54 percent, LG Chem added 0.74 percent, Lotte Chemical tumbled 1.79 percent, SK Innovation eased 0.19 percent, POSCO Holdings jumped 1.95 percent, SK Telecom perked 0.19 percent, KEPCO stumbled 2.58 percent, Hyundai Mobis vaulted 2.37 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 2.62 percent and Kia Motors climbed 1.09 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened under water on Monday and stayed that way throughout the trading day.

The Dow dropped 249.04 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 48,461.93, while the NASDAQ sank 118.75 points or 0.50 percent to and at 23,474.35 and the S&P 500 shed 24.20 points or 0.35 percent to close at 6,905.74.

The pullback on Wall Street reflected profit taking, as some traders looked to cash in on recent gains going into the end of the year.

A pullback by big-name tech companies also weighed on the markets, with Nvidia (NVDA) and Oracle (ORCL) showing notable moves to the downside.

In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Realtors said pending home sales in the U.S. shot up much more than expected in November.

Crude oil prices surged on Monday, with Russia-Ukraine attacks continuing, the U.S.-Venezuela conflict escalating, and fresh conflicts brewing in the Middle East - all increasing supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was up $1.25 or 2.20 percent at $57.99 per barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will see November numbers for industrial output and retail sales later this morning. Production is expected to rise 2.3 percent on month and 1.5 percent on year after slipping 4.0 percent on month and 8.1 percent on year in October. Sales were up 3.5 percent on month in the previous month.