South Korea Shares May Head South Again On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Monday, one session after halting the two-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 50 points or 2.3 percent. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,290-point plateau although it's likely to tick lower again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets mixed to lower amid soft earnings news and ahead of the FOMC's policy announcement later this week. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Monday following gains from the technology and industrial stocks, while the financial, oil and chemical companies were mixed.

For the day, the index climbed 25.21 points or 1.11 percent to finish at 2,293.61 after trading between 2,273.73 and 2,295.51. Volume was 395.3 billion shares worth 8.6 trillion won. There were 526 gainers and 320 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial sank 0.82 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.52 percent, Hana Financial dipped 0.24 percent, Samsung Electronics soared 3.66 percent, Samsung SDI strengthened 1.38 percent, LG Electronics rallied 2.13 percent, SK Hynix dropped 0.84 percent, Naver surged 5.94 percent, LG Chem jumped 1.79 percent, Lotte Chemical skidded 1.00 percent, S-Oil tanked 2.04 percent, SK Innovation soared 2.67 percent, POSCO gained 0.81 percent, SK Telecom eased 0.20 percent, KEPCO tumbled 1.76 percent, Hyundai Motor rose 0.30 percent, Kia Motors perked 0.15 percent and Hyundai Mobis was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened in the red on Monday and remained that way throughout the session.

The Dow slumped 128.85 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 32,732.95, while the NASDAQ sank 114.31 points or 1.03 percent to end at 10,988.15 and the S&P 500 dropped 29.08 points or 0.75 percent to close at 3,871.98.

The Dow posted a gain of almost 14 percent in October, the biggest monthly return since January 1976. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ added 0.8 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, last month.

The weakness on Wall Street came as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's policy announcement on Wednesday. The Fed is widely expected to raise its benchmark interest rate by another 75 basis points - its fourth straight rate hike - to fight soaring inflation.

Also weighing were disappointing earnings results from the likes of Apple Inc. (AAPL), Amazon Inc (AMZN), Microsoft Corp (MSFT), Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL.TO), Meta Platforms Inc (META) and Intel (INTC).

Crude oil prices fell Monday amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand from China following a fresh surge in COVID-19 cases. A rise in oil output in the U.S., and a firm dollar also weighed on prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended down $1.37 or 1.6 percent at $86.53 a barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will release October numbers for imports, exports and trade balance later this morning. Imports are expected to rise 6.9 percent on year, down from 18.6 percent in September. Exports are called lower by an annual 3.0 percent after rising 2.8 percent in the previous month. The trade deficit is pegged at $3.94 billion following the $3.7 billion shortfall a month earlier.