Additional Support Anticipated For South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Monday, one session after ending the three-day winning streak in which it had climbed almost 35 points or 1.2 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,860-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Monday as gains from the technology stocks were offset by losses from the industrials and financials.

For the day, the index perked 3.92 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 2,860.92 after trading between 2,848.93 and 2,872.90. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial skidded 1.15 percent, while KB Financial retreated 1.49 percent, Hana Financial shed 0.64 percent, Samsung Electronics rallied 2.73 percent, Samsung SDI lost 0.66 percent, LG Electronics added 0.46 percent, SK Hynix declined 1.29 percent, Naver advanced 0.86 percent, LG Chem plunged 3.39 percent, Lotte Chemical rose 0.28 percent, SK Innovation eased 0.09 percent, POSCO slumped 1.53 percent, KEPCO sank 0.71 percent, Hyundai Mobis and Kia Motors both dropped 1.07 percent and Hyundai Motor weakened 1.10 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Monday and stayed that way throughout the session to hit fresh record closing highs in somewhat choppy trade.

The Dow rallied 210.82 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 40,211.72, while the NASDAQ gained 74.12 points or 0.40 percent to close at 18,472.57 and the S&P 500 rose 15.87 points or 0.28 percent to end at 5,631.22.

The support on Wall Street was due largely to comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who said that the central bank will not wait until inflation hits 2 percent to cut interest rates.

On the economic front, a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed regional manufacturing activity contracted at a slightly faster rate in July.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Monday, weighed down by weighed down by political uncertainty following an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and weak economic data from China. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for August ended down $0.30 at $81.91 a barrel.