South Korea Shares May See Renewed Selling Pressure

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Tuesday ended the two-day slide in which it had slipped more than 15 points or 0.4 percent. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,760-point plateau although it may tick lower again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with technology and oil companies expected to be under pressure. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

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

For the day, the index advanced 19.52 points or 0.71 percent to finish at 2,757.09 after trading between 2,752.27 and 2,779.40. Volume was 439.5 million shares worth 11.9 trillion won. There were 452 gainers and 404 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial stumbled 1.68 percent, while KB Financial dipped 0.28 percent, Hana Financial tumbled 1.92 percent, Samsung Electronics spiked 2.17 percent, Samsung SDI plunged 2.67 percent, LG Electronics tanked 2.12 percent, SK Hynix surged 4.25 percent, Naver gained 0.48 percent, LG Chem rose 0.32 percent, Lotte Chemical perked 0.25 percent, S-Oil soared 3.39 percent, SK Innovation dropped 0.83 percent, POSCO shed 0.69 percent, SK Telecom rallied 1.50 percent, KEPCO slumped 1.12 percent, Hyundai Mobis spiked 2.52 percent, Hyundai Motor added 0.42 percent and Kia Motors accelerated 2.60 percent.

The lead from Wall Street ends up negative as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and spent most of the session in the green before a late slump sent them all under water at the close.

The Dow shed 31.31 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 39,282.33, while the NASDAQ lost 68.80 points or 0.42 percent to close at 16,315.70 and the S&P 500 fell 14.61 points or 0.28 percent to end at 5,203.58.

The late-day weakness on Wall Street may have reflected concerns about the economic impact of the indefinite suspension of vessel traffic into and out of the Port of Baltimore.

Vessel traffic was suspended after a cargo ship crashed into a pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday morning, leading to the bridge's collapse.

In economic news, the Commerce Department reported an increase in new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in February. Also, the Conference Board noted a slight deterioration in U.S. consumer confidence in March.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Tuesday with traders assessing oil demand and supply positions amid the tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended lower by $0.33 at $81.62 a barrel.