Mild Upside Called For South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market had moved higher in three straight sessions, gathering almost 55 points or 2.2 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,530-point plateau and it may tick higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside, with gains likely limited by profit taking from the oil and technology sectors. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Tuesday following gains from the technology stocks, weakness from the chemicals and financials and a mixed performance from the industrials and energy producers.

For the day, the index rose 5.58 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 2,533.52 after trading between 2,532.20 and 2,546.35. Volume was 389 million shares worth 7.9 trillion won. There were 421 decliners and 414 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial dropped 0.97 percent, while KB Financial sank 0.77 percent, Hana Financial skidded 1.14 percent, Samsung Electronics climbed 1.33 percent, Samsung SDI jumped 1.44 percent, LG Electronics advanced 0.99 percent, SK Hynix soared 3.64 percent, Naver tanked 2.26 percent, LG Chem slumped 0.45 percent, Lotte Chemical fell 0.53 percent, S-Oil lost 0.55 percent, SK Innovation rallied 2.01 percent, POSCO shed 0.58 percent, KEPCO tumbled 1.81 percent, Hyundai Mobis plunged 3.53 percent, Hyundai Motor advanced 0.77 percent, Kia Motors slid 0.49 percent and SK Telecom was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed as the major averages opened on opposite sides of the unchanged line, rallied mid-day but still finished the same way.

The Dow jumped 239.57 points or 0.71 percent to finish at 34,152.01, while the NASDAQ fell 25.50 points or 0.19 percent to close at 13,102.55 and the S&P 500 rose 8.06 points or 0.19 percent to end at 4,305.20.

The continued advance by the Dow was partly due to strong gains by Walmart (WMT) and Home Depot (HD) after both companies reported better than expected second quarter results.

Buying interest may also have been generated in reaction to a report from the Federal Reserve showing U.S. industrial production increased more than expected in July.

Traders largely shrugged off a Commerce Department report showing new residential construction tumbled by much more than expected last month.

Oil prices fell sharply Tuesday on worries about the outlook for energy demand and on a potential increase in supply from OPEC. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September sank $2.88 or 3.2 percent at $86.53 a barrel.