South Korea Shares Due For Consolidation On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, collecting more than 90 points or 3.7 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,550-point plateau although investors are likely to lock in gains on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns over interest rates and the economy. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Wednesday following gains from the industrials and mixed performances from the financial shares and technology stocks.

For the day, the index picked up 2.78 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 2,550.64.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial was up 0.14 percent, while KB Financial eased 0.11 percent, Hana Financial climbed 1.10 percent, Samsung Electronics perked 0.15 percent, LG Electronics jumped 1.78 percent, SK Hynix tumbled 1.63 percent, Naver dropped 0.95 percent, LG Chem plummeted 3.85 percent, Lotte Chemical shed 0.38 percent, S-Oil added 0.62 percent, SK Innovation plunged 4.83 percent, POSCO rallied 2.39 percent, SK Telecom rose 0.10 percent, KEPCO rallied 2.42 percent, Hyundai Mobis surged 4.98 percent, Hyundai Motor soared 3.18 percent and Kia Motors accelerated 1.29 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before finally settling in the red.

The Dow shed 38.29 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 33,646.50, while the NASDAQ slumped 102.54 points or 0.85 percent to end at 11,929.34 and the S&P 500 lost 16.99 points or 0.41 percent to close at 4,091.95.

Stocks initially benefited from a positive reaction to a Labor Department report showing U.S. consumer prices increased by less than expected in the month of March.

Stocks turned lower over the course of the morning, however, as many economists said they still expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by another quarter point early next month.

While buying interest reemerged later in the session, stocks moved back to the downside after the minutes of the latest Fed meeting suggested the recent banking sector turmoil could lead to a recession.

Crude oil prices moved spiked on Wednesday as tamer-than-expected inflation data contributed to an extended pullback in the value of the U.S. dollar. West Texas Intermediate for May delivery shot up $1.73 or 2.1 percent to $83.26 a barrel.