South Korea Bourse Predicted To Extend Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished higher in four straight sessions, gathering more than 40 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,435-point plateau and it's expected to add to its winnings again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mostly higher and the U.S. bourses were solidly in the green and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Thursday as gains from the technology and chemical stocks were capped by weakness from the oil companies and automobile producers.

For the day, the index gained 19.74 points or 0.82 percent to finish at 2,435.27 after trading between 2,429.07 and 2,443.43. Volume was 477.4 million shares worth 9.01 trillion won. There were 481 gainers and 345 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial rose 0.14 percent, while KB Financial eased 0.10 percent, Hana Financial jumped 1.94 percent, Samsung Electronics added 0.16 percent, Samsung SDI spiked 3.96 percent, LG Electronics skyrocketed 5.83 percent, SK Hynix shed 0.60 percent, Naver gained 0.41 percent, LG Chem soared 5.84 percent, Lotte Chemical rallied 2.61 percent, S-Oil tumbled 1.83 percent, SK Innovation slid 0.27 percent, POSCO perked 0.85 percent, SK Telecom collected 0.38 percent, Hyundai Motor lost 0.51 percent, Kia Motors fell 0.37 percent and KEPCO was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages shook off early weakness on Thursday, quickly moving into positive territory and accelerating into the close.

The Dow jumped 332.04 points or 1.03 percent to finish at 32,529.63, while the NASDAQ climbed 130.17 points or 1.08 percent to end at 12,162.59 and the S&P 500 improved 48.82 points or 1.21 percent to close at 4,072.43.

The early weakness on Wall Street followed the release of a Commerce Department report showing a continued contraction in U.S. economic activity in the second quarter of 2022, putting the U.S. in a technical recession.

However, economists cast doubt on whether the economy is actually in a recession, citing other indicators indicating continued growth and persistent strength in the labor market.

The data may have still added to optimism that the Federal Reserve will slow the pace of its interest rate hikes at future meetings, contributing to the turnaround on Wall Street.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Thursday as worries about the outlook for energy demand due to slowing global economic growth weighed on prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended lower by $0.84 or 0.9 percent at $96.42 a barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will provide June data for industrial production and retail sales later this morning. In May, industrial output was up 0.1 percent on month and 7.3 percent on year, while retail sales fell 0.1 percent on month and rose 0.7 percent on year.