Rebound Anticipated For South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Monday wrote a finish to the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 100 points or 2 percent. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 4,950-point plateau although it's expected to bounce higher again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside ahead of the U.S. rate decision later this week. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the financial and industrial companies, while the technology stocks and chemicals were mixed. For the day, the index sank 40.48 points or 0.81 percent to finish at 4,949.59. Volume was 438 million shares worth 22.5 trillion won. There were 502 gainers and 391 decliners. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial contracted 1.79 percent, while KB Financial eased 0.07 percent, Hana Financial perked 0.10 percent, Samsung SDI soared 3.75 percent, LG Electronics surrendered 2.94 percent, SK Hynix stumbled 4.04 percent, Naver rallied 2.44 percent, LG Chem retreated 2.37 percent, Lotte Chemical added 0.75 percent, SK Innovation climbed 1.11 percent, POSCO Holdings sank 0.82 percent, SK Telecom declined 1.44 percent, KEPCO slumped 1.31 percent, Hyundai Mobis jumped 1.75 percent, Hyundai Motor tanked 3.43 percent, Kia Motors tumbled 3.51 percent and Samsung Electronics was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Monday and remained modestly in the green throughout the session. The Dow jumped 313.69 points or 0.64 percent to finish at 49,412.40, while the NASDAQ climbed 100.11 points or 0.43 percent to end at 23,601.36 and the S&P 500 added 34.62 points or 0.50 percent to close at 6,950.23.

The strength on Wall Street comes ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates.

Traders are also keeping an eye on the latest geopolitical developments, with President Donald Trump threatening to impose a 100 percent tariff on goods from Canada over a potential free trade deal with China.

The U.S. government is also facing the possibility of another shutdown, as several Democratic senators have threatened to oppose a spending bill if it includes appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security. This comes after federal immigration agents shot and killed another U.S. citizen in Minneapolis over the weekend.

Crude oil prices slid on Monday following the resumption of production in Kazakhstan, although geopolitical tensions in the Middle East limited the decline. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was down by $0.42 or 0.69 percent at $60.65 per barrel.