South Korea Shares May Head South Again On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Tuesday ended the two-day slide in which it had given up mor than 50 points or 1.6 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 3,170-point plateau although it's expected to turn lower again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on renewed ambiguity surrounding U.S. tariff policies. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Tuesday as gains from the financials and technology stocks were capped by weakness from the chemicals and a mixed picture from the industrials.

For the day, the index advanced 29.42 points or 0.94 percent to finish at 3,172.35 after trading between 3,151.93 and 3,174.16. Volume was 304 million shares worth 8.5 trillion won. There were 484 gainers and 376 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial strengthened 1.41 percent, while KB Financial collected 1.59 percent, Hana Financial climbed 1.11 percent, Samsung Electronics rallied 2.22 percent, Samsung SDI slipped 0.25 percent, LG Electronics gained 0.69 percent, SK Hynix jumped 1.76 percent, Naver surged 4.41 percent, LG Chem sank 0.75 percent, SK Innovation improved 0.70 percent, POSCO Holdings shed 0.36 percent, SK Telecom eased 0.18 percent, KEPCO advanced 0.96 percent, Hyundai Mobis increased 0.62 percent, Hyundai Motor fell 0.23 percent, Kia Motors added 0.66 percent and Lotte Chemical was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower and remained in the red throughout the day, although off session lows.

The Dow dropped 249.07 points or 0.55 percent to finish at 45,295.81, while the NASDAQ sank 175.92 points or 0.82 percent to end at 21,279.63 and the S&P 500 lost 44.72 points or 0.69 percent to close at 6,415.54.

The early sell-off on Wall Street came amid renewed trade uncertainty after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled most of President Donald Trump's global tariffs are illegal.

Treasury yields surged in reaction to the ruling amid concerns the government may have to repay the billions of dollars already brought in through Trump's tariffs.

In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing a slight increase by its reading on U.S. manufacturing activity in August, although the index still posted its sixth consecutive month of contraction.

Crude oil jumped on Tuesday on concerns about supply disruptions increased following strikes on Russian energy sites by Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $1.51 or 2.36 percent at $65.52 per barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will see Q2 data for gross domestic product later this morning, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 0.6 percent on quarter and 0.5 percent on year. That follows the 0.2 percent quarterly decline and the flat annual reading in the previous three months.