South Korea Stock Market Due For Consolidation

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished higher in two straight sessions, advancing almost 70 points or 3.2 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,335-point plateau although investors may lock in gains on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later today. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down, and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the technology stocks, oil companies and chemicals.

For the day, the index soared 41.61 points or 1.81 percent to finish at 2,335.22 after trading between 2,297.57 and 2,335.57. Volume was 586.7 billion shares worth 9.3 trillion won. There were 709 gainers and 152 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.41 percent, while KB Financial retreated 1.56 percent, Hana Financial perked 0.12 percent, Samsung Electronics climbed 1.01 percent, Samsung SDI spiked 3.12 percent, LG Electronics improved 1.23 percent, SK Hynix strengthened 1.45 percent, Naver added 0.59 percent, LG Chem skyrocketed 11.02 percent, Lotte Chemical soared 4.73 percent, S-Oil advanced 1.04 percent, SK Innovation surged 5.49 percent, POSCO rallied 2.21 percent, SK Telecom rose 0.20 percent, KEPCO accelerated 2.69 percent, Hyundai Mobis dropped 0.91 percent and Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors and Kakao Corp were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages were unable to hold early gains on Tuesday, quickly heading south and ending in the red.

The Dow shed 79.75 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 32,653.20, while the NASDAQ dropped 97.30 points or 0.89 percent to end at 10,890.85 and the S&P 500 fell 15.88 points or 0.41 percent to close at 3,856.10.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came as traders wished to consolidate their positions ahead of the Fed announcement. The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points, but traders have expressed optimism the central bank will signal plans to slow the pace of rate hikes at upcoming meetings.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted a jump in U.S. job openings in September, while the Institute for Supply Management showed a slight increase in U.S. manufacturing activity in October. Also, the Commerce Department said construction spending in the U.S. unexpectedly increased in October.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Tuesday on a weak dollar, a reduction in OPEC crude output, an upward revision in oil demand forecast by OPEC, and record U.S. oil export data. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December jumped $1.84 or 2.1 percent at $88.37 a barrel.