South Korea Bourse May Extend Monday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had risen more than 10 points or 0.4 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,540-point plateau and it may tick higher again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for the economy and the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares and chemical and energy companies, while the automobile and technology producers were mixed.

For the day, the index advanced 24.27 points or 0.96 percent to finish at 2,543.41. Volume was 475.47 million shares worth 8.1 trillion won. There were 725 gainers and 154 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial advanced 0.99 percent, while KB Financial perked 0.12 percent, Hana Financial collected 0.77 percent, Samsung Electronics sank 0.45 percent, Samsung SDI improved 0.67 percent, LG Electronics jumped 1.32 percent, SK Hynix shed 0.52 percent, Naver strengthened 1.18 percent, S-Oil surged 5.63 percent, SK Innovations rallied 2.49 percent, LG Chem gained 0.54 percent, Lotte Chemical spiked 2.47 percent, POSCO soared 2.77 percent, SK Telecom added 0.42 percent, KEPCO climbed 1.12 percent, Hyundai Mobis gathered 0.66 percent, Hyundai Motor fell 0.43 percent and Kia Company rose 0.26 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Monday, ebbed and flowed throughout the session but still ended solidly in positive territory.

The Dow jumped 213.08 points or 0.62 percent to finish at 34,559.98, while the NASDAQ spiked 114.48 points or 0.84 percent to close at 13,705.13 and the S&P 500 rallied 27.60 points or 0.63 percent to end at 4,433.31.

The higher open came after China put forth stimulus to ease market unrest and drive economic growth. Chinese authorities announced a slew of measures over the weekend to bolster the country's equity markets and fuel an increase in spending. The measures included a 50 percent reduction in stamp duty on stock trades and a slower pace of initial public offerings.

The markets also saw continued momentum after Fed Chair Jerome Powell expressed confidence in continued economic growth last week at Jackson Hole and reiterated the central bank's commitment to pull inflation back to the 2 percent target.

Crude oil prices edged higher on Monday on optimism that energy operations in the Gulf Coast of Florida may be affected by severe weather conditions this week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended higher by $0.27 or 0.3 percent at $80.10 a barrel.