South Korea Stock Market May Extend Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, advancing almost 50 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,680-point plateau and it may tick higher again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside ahead of key data later in the week, although slumping oil prices may cap the upside. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets are likely to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Monday following gains from the technology stocks, industrials and energy producers, while the financial sector was mixed.

For the day, the index jumped 46.00 points or 1.74 percent to finish at 2,682.52 after trading between 2,657.81 and 2,690.73. Volume was 768.6 million shares worth 13.8 trillion won. There were 632 gainers and 249 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial fell 0.32 percent, while KB Financial eased 0.13 percent, Hana Financial collected 1.62 percent, Samsung Electronics spiked 2.99 percent, Samsung SDI added 0.67 percent, LG Electronics slumped 1.62 percent, SK Hynix rallied 2.64 percent, Naver increased 1.47 percent, LG Chem strengthened 1.71 percent, Lotte Chemical tumbled 2.83 percent, S-Oil jumped 2.64 percent, SK Innovation skyrocketed 6.30 percent, POSCO improved 1.36 percent, SK Telecom advanced 0.98 percent, KEPCO soared 4.37 percent, Hyundai Mobis gained 2.56 percent, Hyundai Motor surged 4.74 percent and Kia Motors accelerated 2.55 percent.

The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages opened higher on Monday but quickly turned lower and spent most of the day in the red before a late push saw them end mixed and little changed.

The Dow slumped 115.29 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 38,571.03, while the NASDAQ added 93.65 points or 0.56 percent to close at 16,828.67 and the S&P 500 rose 5.89 points or 0.11 percent to end at 5,283.40.

Investors locked in recent gains in the first half of the day, consolidating positions ahead of key data later in the week. Late bargain hunting boosted the averages going into the close.

In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said that manufacturing activity in the U.S. unexpectedly contracted at a slightly faster rate in May. Also, the U.S. Census Bureau said U.S. construction spending unexpectedly shrunk in April.

Oil prices fell to a four-month low on Monday after OPEC said it will begin phasing out voluntary production cuts over the next year. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended down by $2.77 or about 3.6 percent at $74.22 a barrel.