South Korea Stock Market Due For Support On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished lower in four straight sessions, slumping more than 100 points or 3.9 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just shy of the 2,570-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on bargain hunting and falling bond yields. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the industrials and mixed performances from the financials, chemicals and technology stocks.

For the day, the index shed 10.26 points or 0.40 percent to finish at 2,567.82 after trading between 2,566.34 and 2,591.68. Volume was 313.6 million shares worth 6.7 trillion won. There were 500 decliners and 358 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.27 percent, while KB Financial jumped 1.75 percent, Hana Financial shed 0.60 percent, Samsung Electronics eased 0.13 percent, Samsung SDI stumbled 2.02 percent, LG Electronics spiked 2.06 percent, SK Hynix skidded 1.09 percent. Naver rallied 2.72 percent, LG Chem lost 0.73 percent, Lotte Chemical perked 0.07 percent, S-Oil slumped 1.17 percent, SK Innovation declined 1.12 percent, POSCO tumbled 2.19 percent, SK Telecom sank 0.91 percent, KEPCO retreated 1.54 percent, Hyundai Mobis surrendered 1.35 percent, Hyundai Motor dropped 0.85 percent and Kia Motors plunged 2.95 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened mixed on Monday but trended steadily upward as the day progressed and finished solidly in the green.

The Dow climbed 216.90 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 37,683.01, while the NASDAQ surged 319.70 points or 2.20 percent to end at 14,843.77 and the S&P 500 rallied 66.30 points or 1.41 percent to close at 4,763.54.

A drop in bond yields, and optimism about the outlook for stocks despite recent uncertainty about the likelihood of near-term interest rate cuts helped push stock prices up.

The Dow was weighed down by Boeing shares, which fell 8 percent after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to ground dozens of the company's 737 Max 9 aircraft after a door plug blew out in the middle of an Alaska Airlines flight on Friday.

Oil prices fell sharply on Monday as Saudi Arabia's decision to cut prices offset concerns about an escalation in the Middle East conflict. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for February ended down $3.04 or 4.4 percent at $70.77 a barrel.