More Profit Taking Expected For South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Tuesday halted the nine-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 180 points or 7.7 percent. The KOSPI now rests just shy of the 2,380-point plateau and it may see continued consolidation on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with earnings news likely to guide investors. The European and U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets are expected to follow suit.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares and the oil companies, while the chemical and technology companies were mixed.

For the day, the index slumped 20.47 points or 0.85 percent to finish at 2,379.39 after trading between 2,374.65 and 2,404.00. Volume was 529.4 million shares worth 6.2 trillion won. There were 618 decliners and 250 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial skidded 1.14 percent, while KB Financial retreated 1.50 percent, Hana Financial sank 0.76 percent, Samsung Electronics eased 0.16 percent, Samsung SDI slumped 1.27 percent, LG Electronics rose 0.32 percent, SK Hynix and Hyundai Mobis both perked 0.23 percent, Naver plummeted 3.49 percent, LG Chem plunged 2.98 percent, Lotte Chemical spiked 2.47 percent, S-Oil shed 0.59 percent, SK Innovation declined 1.27 percent, POSCO tumbled 1.77 percent, SK Telecom added 0.54 percent, KEPCO dipped 0.25 percent, Hyundai Motor fell 0.30 percent and Kia Motors gained 0.62 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday, saw a mild recovery but only the NASDAQ managed to end in the green.

The Dow tumbled 391.76 points or 1.14 percent to finish at 33,910.85, while the NASDAQ rose 15.96 points or 0.14 percent to end at 11,095.11 and the S&P 500 dipped 8.12 points or 0.20 percent to close at 3,990.97.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders expressed some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following recent strength.

A steep drop by Goldman Sachs (GS) weighed on the Dow after the company reported earnings that missed estimates. Travelers (TRV) also missed, while Morgan Stanley (MS) beat the street.

In economic news, the New York Federal Reserve noted a significant contraction in regional manufacturing activity in January.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Tuesday on expectations of a jump in demand following better than expected Chinese GDP data. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended higher by $0.32 or 0.4 percent at $80.18 a barrel, the highest settlement since December 30.