South Korea Stock Market May Run Out Of Steam On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting almost 170 points or 2.6 percent in that span. Now at a fresh record closing high, the KOSPI sits just above the 6,640-point plateau although it's due for profit taking on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on weakness among the tech shares and because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and its effect on oil prices. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, chemicals, technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index added 25.99 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 6,641.02 after trading between 6,621.73 and 6,712.73. Volume was 1.1 billion shares worth 37.3 trillion won. There were 431 gainers and 417 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial rose 0.20 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.89 percent, Hana Financial vaulted 3.42 percent, Samsung Electronics skidded 1.11 percent, Samsung SDI surged 7.09 percent, LG Electronics soared 7.60 percent, SK Hynix added 0.62 percent, Naver strengthened 2.09 percent, LG Chem expanded 3.82 percent, Lotte Chemical climbed 2.49 percent, SK Innovation advanced 1.99 percent, POSCO Holdings skyrocketed 11.74 percent, SK Telecom slumped 1.22 percent, KEPCO tumbled 2.51 percent, Hyundai Mobis rallied 3.35 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 5.92 percent and Kia Motors jumped 1.90 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday but all quickly tracked to the downside and finished in the red.

The Dow shed 25.86 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 49,141.93, while the NASDAQ slumped 223.30 points or 0.90 percent to end at 24,663.80 and the S&P 500 sank 35.11 points or 0.49 percent to close at 7,138.80.

The NASDAQ pulled back well off Monday's record closing high as companies tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure came under pressure after reports said OpenAI recently missed its own targets for new users and revenue.

An extended surge by the price of crude oil also weighed on Wall Street, with U.S. crude oil futures spiking above $100 a barrel before giving ground.

Crude oil prices soared on Tuesday amid the ongoing U.S.-Iran stalemate, although it gave ground later in the day following reports that Iran readied a revised peace plan. West Texas Intermediate crude for June month delivery was up $3.44 or 3.57 percent at $99.81 per barrel.