Rally May Stall For South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, advancing more than 25 points or 1 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,750-point plateau although it may spin its wheels on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation, largely on profit taking following recent gains. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financials, technology stocks and industrial companies.

For the day, the index gained 22.66 points or 0.83 percent to finish at 2,753 after trading between 2,748.22 and 2,773.46. Volume was 510.3 million shares worth 13 trillion won. There were 531 gainers and 345 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 1.37 percent, while KB Financial jumped 1.76 percent, Hana Financia accelerated 3.58 percent, Samsung Electronics eased 0.13 percent, Samsung SDI gained 0.68 percent, LG Electronics added 0.51 percent, SK Hynix soared 4.16 percent, Naver rallied 2.22 percent, LG Chem rose 0.37 percent, Lotte Chemical plunged 2.89 percent, S-Oil dipped 0.14 percent, SK Innovation sank 0.63 percent, POSCO perked 0.25 percent, SK Telecom retreated 1.52 percent, KEPCO fell 0.30 percent, Hyundai Mobis climbed 1.11 percent, Hyundai Motor gathered 0.20 percent and Kia Motors improved 0.70 percent.

The lead from Wall Street ends up soft as the major averages spent most of Thursday in the green before a late wave of profit taking nudged them under water.

The Dow shed 38.62 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 39,869.38, while the NASDAQ sank 44.07 points or 0.26 percent to close at 16,698.32 and the S&P dipped 11.05 points or 0.21 percent to end at 5,297.10.

The early strength on Wall Street reflected an extension of the rally seen during Wednesday's session, which came amid optimism about the outlook for interest rates following tamer-than-expected consumer price inflation data.

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, with traders pausing to lock in recent gains.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted a pullback by initial jobless claims last week. Also, a separate Labor Department report showed U.S. import prices jumped more than expected in April, and industrial production came in flat last month.

Oil prices advanced on Thursday, continuing to benefit from recent data showing a larger than expected decline in crude inventories in the U.S. last week. Hopes of an interest rate cut in September contributed as well to the rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for June ended higher by $0.60 at $79.23 a barrel.