South Korea Shares May Extend Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, advancing almost 830 points or 10 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 8,550-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, even though they've already had the chance to respond the easing of tensions in the Middle East. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to at least open to the upside.

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

For the day, the index jumped 422.36 points or 5.20 percent to finish at 8,545.98 after trading between 8,450.24 and 8,603.48. Volume was 510.3 million shares worth 38.6 trillion won. There were 674 gainers and 206 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 6.02 percent, while KB Financial rallied 5.12 percent, Hana Financial soared 6.86 percent, Samsung Electronics vaulted 4.50 percent, Samsung SDI advanced 2.60 percent, LG Electronics surged 10.53 percent, SK Hynix spiked 6.42 percent, Naver rose 0.40 percent, LG Chem improved 4.49 percent, Lotte Chemical climbed 5.75 percent, SK Innovation elevated 6.22 percent, POSCO Holdings expanded 4.77 percent, SK Telecom added 2.33 percent, KEPCO skyrocketed 9.96 percent, Hyundai Mobis increased 5.44 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 6.59 percent and Kia Motors gained 0.42 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened sharply higher on Monday and remained that way throughout the trading day.

The Dow jumped 468.77 points or 0.92 percent to finish at 51,671.03, while the NASDAQ surged 795.10 points or 3.07 percent to end at 26,683.94 and the S&P 500 rallied 122.83 points or 1.65 percent to close at 7,554.29.

The rally on Wall Street followed news that the U.S. and Iran have reached an agreement to end more than three months of war.

The agreement reportedly extends the U.S.-Iran ceasefire for 60 days, with the countries set to use that window to negotiate over Iran's nuclear enrichment and the disposal of its highly enriched uranium.

Crude oil prices plummeted Monday after the U.S. and Iran reached an agreement to end their conflict and allow the immediate resumption of trade via the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $4.31 or 5.08 percent at $80.57 per barrel.

In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Federal Reserve showed a modest increase in industrial production in the U.S. in May.