KOSPI May Hand Back Tuesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Tuesday, one session after snapping the four-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 65 points or 2.7 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,480-point plateau although it may open under renewed consolidation on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with losses among technology stocks likely to be mitigated by continued support from oil shares. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financials and mixed performances from the technology, chemical and industrial companies.

For the day, the index added 8.17 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 2,480.51. Volume was 808.77 million shares worth 12.72 trillion won. There were 634 gainers and 242 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial jumped 1.74 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.95 percent, Hana Financial strengthened 1.48 percent, Samsung Electronics gathered 0.79 percent, Samsung SDI tumbled 2.55 percent, LG Electronics rallied 1.85 percent, SK Hynix plunged 3.10 percent, Naver spiked 1.41 percent, LG Chem accelerated 1.40 percent, Lotte Chemical dipped 0.21 percent, S-Oil added 0.36 percent, SK Innovation increased 0.67 percent, POSCO plummeted 6.38 percent, SK Telecom rose 0.32 percent, KEPCO improved 0.78 percent, Hyundai Mobis gained 0.47 percent, Hyundai Motor perked 0.11 percent and Kia Motors retreated 1.35 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened flat on Tuesday but quicky turned lower and finished with modest losses.

The Dow tumbled 198.77 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 33,402.38, while the NASDAQ sank 63.12 points or 0.52 percent to close at 12,126.33 and the S&P 500 shed 23.91 points or 0.58 percent to end at 4,100.60.

Profit taking contributed to the pullback on Wall Street, as traders cashed in on recent strength in the markets amid lingering concerns about the global economic outlook.

Negative sentiment was also generated by a Labor Department report showing job openings in the U.S. fell more than expected in February. Also, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured goods fell more than expected in February.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Tuesday, extending gains to a fourth straight session as the decision of the OPEC+ to cut crude production continued to support oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $0.29 or 0.4 percent at $80.71 a barrel.