Win Streak May Continue For South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting almost 60 points or 2.3 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,685-point plateau and it may tick higher again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to slightly higher ahead of Wednesday's FOMC policy announcement. The European markets were soft and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Monday following gains from the technology stocks, chemicals and industrials, while the financials came in mixed.

For the day, the index climbed 31.11 points or 1.17 percent to finish at the daily high of 2,687.44 after moving as low as 2,665.21. Volume was 461 million shares worth 10.2 trillion won. There were 719 gainers and 165 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial rose 0.21 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.79 percent, Hana Financial shed 0.50 percent, Samsung SDI rallied 3.06 percent, LG Electronics spiked 2.20 percent, SK Hynix skidded 1.07 percent, Naver jumped 1.76 percent, LG Chem soared 5.89 percent, Lotte Chemical skyrocketed 7.70 percent, S-Oil slumped 1.08 percent, SK Innovation surged 5.62 percent, POSCO accelerated 3.17 percent, SK Telecom dipped 0.19 percent, KEPCO climbed 1.19 percent, Hyundai Mobis plummeted 4.57 percent, Hyundai Motor advanced 0.80 percent, Kia Motors perked 0.08 percent and Samsung Electronics was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened higher on Monday and stayed mostly in the green, ending slightly higher.

The Dow jumped 146.43 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 38,386.09, while the NASDAQ advanced 55.18 points or 0.35 percent to close at 15,983.08 and the S&P 500 added 16.21 points or 0.32 percent to end at 5,116.17.

The modestly higher close on Wall Street came as stocks continue to benefit from the upward momentum seen last week, which came amid a positive reaction to upbeat tech earnings.

Overall trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but the accompanying statement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting press conference may shed additional light on the outlook for rates.

Oil futures settled lower on Monday amid worries about growth and outlook for oil demand and the rising possibility of the Federal Reserve delaying interest rate cuts. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended down by $1.22 or 1.45 percent at $82.63 a barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will release March figures for industrial production and retail sales later this morning. In February, industrial production was up 3.1 percent on month and 4.8 percent on year, while retail sales slipped 3.1 percent on month.