South Korea Shares Overdue For Profit Taking

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has tracked higher in six straight sessions, accelerating more than 320 points or 8.6 percent in that span. Now at another fresh record closing high, the KOSPI rests just above the 3,880-point plateau although investors figure to lock in gains on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns over relations between the United States and China, while tech shares are also likely to be weak. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher again on Wednesday following gains from the chemicals, technology stocks and automobile producers, while the financials came in mixed.

For the day, the index jumped 59.84 points or 1.56 percent to finish at 3,883.68. Volume was 588.5 million shares worth 15.1 trillion won. There were 635 gainers and 247 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial rose 0.27 percent, while KB Financial shed 0.60 percent, Hana Financial collected 0.34 percent, Samsung Electronics climbed 1.13 percent, Samsung SDI rallied 1.90 percent, LG Electronics gained 0.45 percent, SK Hynix added 0.52 percent, Naver increased 0.39 percent, LG Chem skyrocketed 13.01 percent, Lotte Chemical surged 6.45 percent, SK Innovation advanced 1.28 percent, POSCO Holdings soared 4.24 percent, SK Telecom expanded 0.55 percent, KEPCO perked 0.11 percent, Hyundai Mobis vaulted 1.94 percent, Hyundai Motor jumped 1.75 percent and Kia Motors accelerated 1.99 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened flat but gradually turned lower as the day progressed and finished solidly under water.

The Dow stumbled 334.33 points or 0.71 percent to finish at 46,590.41, while the NASDAQ sank 213.27 points or 0.93 percent to end at 22,740.40 and the S&P 500 slumped 35.95 points or 0.53 percent to close at 6,699.40.

The slump by the tech-heavy NASDAQ was partly due to a steep drop by shares of Netflix (NFLX) and Texas Instruments (TXN) after disappointing earnings news.

The major averages fell to their lows of the session following reports that the Trump administration is considering a plan to curb an array of software-powered exports to China.

Crude oil prices surged on Wednesday on news that the proposed U.S.-Russia summit to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war has been shelved. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was up $1.28 or 2.24 percent at $58.52 per barrel.

Closer to home, the Bank of Korea will wrap up its monetary policy meeting later this morning and then announce its decision on interest rates; the BoK is expected to keep its benchmark lending rate steady at 2.50 percent.