Tech Shares Again Likely To Fuel KOSPI

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Monday ended the two-day slide in which it had plummeted more than 280 points or 5.6 percent. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 5,300-point plateau and it may tick higher again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic amidst an extended rebound among technology companies and ahead of key U.S. data later this week. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Monday with gains across the board, especially among the financials, technology stocks, chemicals ad industrials. For the day, the index soared 208.90 points or 4.10 percent to finish at 5,298.04. Volume was 612.4 million shares worth 26.2 trillion won. There were 714 gainers and 173 decliners. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial fell 0.21 percent, while KB Financial collected 1.41 percent, Hana Financial accelerated 3.66 percent, Samsung Electronics spiked 4.92 percent, Samsung SDI jumped 2.70 percent, LG Electronics strengthened 3.43 percent, SK Hynix vaulted 5.72 percent, Naver rose 0.40 percent, LG Chem advanced 2.14 percent, Lotte Chemical improved 2.74 percent, SK Innovation expanded 3.30 percent, POSCO Holdings added 1.11 percent, SK Telecom surged 6.07 percent, KEPCO soared 3.13 percent, Hyundai Mobis increased 2.11 percent, Hyundai Motor gained 2.25 percent and Kia Motors was up 1.25 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened lower on Monday but eventually moved up into the green to finish with modest gains.

The Dow rose 18.98 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 50,134.65, while the NASDAQ jumped 217.80 points or 0.95 percent to close at 23,249.02 and the S&P 500 added 34.13 points or 0.49 percent to end at 6,966.43.

The strength that has emerged on Wall Street reflected an extended rebound by tech stocks, which helped the strong upward move seen last Friday.

Software giant Oracle (ORCL) has helped lead the sector higher, spiking by 9.3 percent after D.A. Davidson upgraded its rating on the company's stock to Buy from Neutral.

The choppy trading came as traders were reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of several key U.S. economic reports in the coming days. The Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report, which was delayed due to the brief government shutdown last week, is likely to be in the spotlight.

Gold prices moved sharply higher on Monday, extending last week's gains. Gold for February delivery surged $99.70 or 2 percent to $5,050.90 an ounce. The continued advance by the price of gold came amid weakness in the value of the U.S. dollar, with the U.S. dollar index sliding 0.7 percent.