South Korea Shares May Extend Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in seven straight sessions, collecting more than 115 points or 4.6 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,575-point plateau and it may tick higher again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside with earnings optimism offset by interest rate jitters. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished slightly higher again on Monday following mixed performances from the financials, technology stocks and oil and chemical companies, while the automobile shares were down on profit taking.

For the day, the index perked 4.42 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 2,575.91 after trading between 2,561.14 and 2,577.08. Volume was 765.6 million shares worth 12.5 trillion won. There were 488 gainers and 389 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.42 percent, while KB Financial lost 0.51 percent, Hana Financial retreated 1.66 percent, Samsung Electronics rose 0.31 percent, Samsung SDI dropped 0.92 percent, LG Electronics plummeted 2.60 percent, SK Hynix stumbled 0.90 percent, Naver skidded 1.01 percent, LG Chem added 0.37 percent, Lotte Chemical plunged 2.49 percent, S-Oil declined 0.73 percent, SK Innovation strengthened 1.63 percent, POSCO jumped 1.80 percent, SK Telecom fell 0.31 percent, KEPCO climbed 1.07 percent, Hyundai Mobis slumped 1.30 percent, Hyundai Motor shed 0.56 percent and Kia Motors sank 0.94 percent.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages opened higher on Monday, slipped into the red midday but bounced back into positive territory heading into the close.

The Dow climbed 100.71 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 33,987.18, while the NASDAQ added 34.26 points or 0.28 percent to close at 12,157.72 and the S&P 500 rose 13.68 points or 0.33 percent to end at 4,151.32.

Uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates seemed to spook investors after Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said that he wants to see more evidence of inflation settling back to target before calling interest rate hikes finished.

But he added that he feels reassured by what he is seeing in the banking sector in terms of stability after a couple of solvency issues by individual banks last month.

In economic news, the National Association of Home Builders said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index in the U.S. increased to 45 in April, rising for a fourth month in a row.

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Monday amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand, while uncertainty about interest rate hikes and the dollar's rise against other currencies also weighed. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for May sank $1.69 or 2.1 percent at $80.83 a barrel.