Rally May Stall For South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, gathering more than 50 points or 2.3 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,290-point plateau although investors may cash in on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with tech shares expected to weigh heavily. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Thursday with gains across the board, especially among the financials and oil and chemical companies.

For the day, the index jumped 39.22 points or 1.74 percent to finish at 2,288.78 after trading between 2,262.02 and 2,290.56. Volume was 579.8 million shares worth 8.34 trillion won. There were 770 gainers and 111 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial rallied 1.99 percent, while KB Financial spiked 3/75 percent, Hana Financial soared 4.85 percent, Samsung Electronics perked 0.17 percent, Samsung SDI skyrocketed 7.39 percent, LG Electronics collected 3.03 percent, SK Hynix plunged 4.15 percent, Naver was up 0.94 percent, LG Chem surged 6.58 percent, Lotte Chemical improved 2.43 percent, S-Oil advanced 3.26 percent, SK Innovation exploded for 10.39 percent, POSCO surged 5.06 percent, SK Telecom strengthened 2.44 percent, KEPCO climbed 2.70 percent, Hyundai Mobis increased 3.03 percent, Hyundai Motor gained 0.93 percent and Kia Motors added 0.76 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday. The NASDAQ remained lower throughout the session, while the Dow was higher the whole day and the S&P bounced back and forth across the unchanged line, finally finishing in the red.

The Dow jumped 194.17 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 32,033.28, while the NASDAQ tumbled 178.32 points or 1.63 percent to end at 10,792.67 and the S&P 500 fell 23.30 points or 0.61 percent to close at 3,807.30.

The continued upward move by the Dow reflected positive reaction to earnings news from the likes of Caterpillar (CAT), Honeywell (HON), McDonald's (MCD) and Merck (MRK).

The index also benefited from a positive reaction to a report from the Commerce Department showing U.S. economic activity rebounded by slightly more than expected in the third quarter following two straight quarters of contraction.

Meanwhile, a steep drop by Meta Platforms (META) weighed on the tech-heavy NASDAQ, with the Facebook parent plunging by 24.5 percent after the company reported weaker than expected Q3 earnings and disappointing guidance.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session amid optimism about demand growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December were up $1.17 or 1.3 percent at $89.08 a barrel.