South Korea Stock Market May Hand Back Tuesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Tuesday halted the three-day losing streak in which it had dropped almost 70 points or 2.9 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,410-point plateau although it may head south again on Wednesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on inflation and interest rate concerns. 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 following gains from the chemical companies and automobile producers, while the financials and technology stocks were mixed. For the day, the index added 6.34 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 2,410.02 after trading between 2,399.26 and 2,422.53. Volume was 283.43 million shares worth 5.34 trillion won. There were 606 gainers and 249 decliners. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial fell 0.29 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.10 percent, Hana Financial dipped 0.26 percent, Samsung SDI skidded 1.06 percent, LG Electronics lost 0.41 percent, SK Hynix improved 0.77 percent, Naver slipped 0.42 percent, LG Chem gained 0.49 percent, Lotte Chem soared 2.35 percent, SK Innovations advanced 0.81 percent, SK Telecom retreated 1.54 percent, KEPCO rose 0.25 percent, Hyundai Mobis climbed 1.17 percent, Hyundai Motor gathered 0.50 percent, Kia Corporation added 0.49 percent and Samsung Electronics, POSCO and S-Oil were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages quickly moved lower on Tuesday, rebounded midday but then faced renewed consolidation that lasted throughout the rest of the session.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders expressed some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following recent weakness.

The volatility on the day also came amid a surge in treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note jumping to its highest levels in almost three months.

Potentially adding to the worries about interest rates, the Institute for Supply Management said service sector activity in the U.S. unexpectedly grew at a slightly faster rate in August. The report is a positive sign for the economy but may have led to concerns the Federal Reserve will see the data as an indication that it can continue to aggressively raise interest rates.

Oil futures settled barely higher on Tuesday after the decision by OPEC+ to cut output by 100,000 barrels per day in October, although the dollar's uptick limited oil's upside. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended higher by a penny or $0.09% at $86.88 a barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will see July data for current account later this morning; in June, the current account surplus was $5.61 billion.