Win Streak May Continue For South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Tuesday's Memorial Day holiday, the South Korea stock market had moved higher in back-to-back sessions, advancing more than 45 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,615-point plateau and it may tick higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to slightly higher, with apprehension reigning over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets saw mild upside and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

The KOPI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares and industrials, while the technology companies were mixed.

For the day, the index added 14.05 points or 0.54 percent to finish at 2,615.41 after trading between 2,608.01 and 2,618.62. Volume was 537.16 million shares worth 8.43 trillion won. There were 655 gainers and 209 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial and SK Innovation both advanced 0.86 percent, while KB Financial rallied 2.32 percent, Hana Financial collected 0.72 percent, Samsung Electronics sank 0.69 percent, Samsung SDI and LG Chem both rose 0.28 percent, LG Electronics soared 3.33 percent, SK Hynix retreated 1.45 percent, Lotte Chemical surged 3.21 percent, S-Oil gained 1.78 percent, POSCO spiked 2.92 percent, SK Telecom improved 0.82 percent, KEPCO climbed 1.19 percent, Hyundai Mobis jumped 2.02 percent, Hyundai Motor increased 0.75 percent, Kia Motors strengthened 1.17 percent and Naver was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages spent much of Tuesday bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line, finally finishing with slight gains.

The Dow rose 10.42 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 33,573.28, while the NASDAQ added 46.99 points or 0.36 percent to close at 13,276.42 and the S&P 500 picked up 10.06 points or 0.24 percent to end at 4,283.85.

Traders remained reluctant to make significant moves as they continue to look ahead to next week's Federal Reserve meeting.

The Fed is due to announce its latest monetary policy decision next Wednesday, with the central bank widely expected to pause its recent series of interest rate hikes.

Crude oil prices slumped Tuesday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to economic slowdown and interest rate hikes. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July fell $0.41 or 0.6 percent at $71.74 a barrel.