KOSPI Expected To Return To The Upside On Thursday

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Wednesday's holiday for Hangul Day, the South Korea stock market had ended the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up almost 50 points or 2 percent. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 2,600-point plateau, although it's tipped to erase those losses on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the industrials and technology stocks, while the financials were mixed.

For the day, the index shed 16.02 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 2,594.36 after trading between 2,581.79 and 2,601.96. Volume was 313 million shares worth 8.98 trillion won. There were 569 decliners and 305 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial slid 0.18 percent, while KB Financial rallied 2.41 percent, Hana Financial shed 0.49 percent, Samsung Electronics skidded 1.15 percent, Samsung SDI advanced 0.95 percent, LG Electronics tanked 5.50 percent, SK Hynix tumbled 3.73 percent, Naver perked 0.06 percent, LG Chem added 0.56 percent, Lotte Chemical plummeted 4.79 percent, SK Innovation rose 0.08 percent, POSCO sank 0.79 percent, SK Telecom plunged 3.36 percent, KEPCO dipped 0.15 percent, Hyundai Mobis gained 0.46 percent, Hyundai Motor lost 0.40 percent and Kia Motors dropped 0.80 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened flat on Wednesday but tracked consistently higher as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow surged 431.63 points or 1.03 percent to finish at a record 42,512.00, while the NASDAQ jumped 108.70 points or 0.60 percent to close at 18,291.62 and the S&P 500 rallied 40.91 points or 0.71 percent to also end at a record high 5,792.04.

The strength on Wall Street followed the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's September meeting, which showed that most members favored the larger rate cut rather than a smaller one, generating optimism for future cuts.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit shrank to $70.4 billion in August from a revised $78.9 billion in July. Economists had expected the trade deficit to decrease to $70.6 billion from the $78.8 billion originally reported for the previous month.

Crude oil prices fell Wednesday after data showed a big jump in crude inventories which outweighed possible supply disruptions due to Hurricane Milton and Middle East tensions. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November fell $0.33 or 0.45 percent at $73.24 a barrel.