South Korea Shares Tipped To Open In The Green

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Thursday ended the two-day slide in which it had slumped more than 30 points or 1.1 percent. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,650-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on growing optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Thursday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and chemical companies.

For the day, the index rose 6.13 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 2,647.62 after trading between 2,633.57 and 2,660.26. Volume was 447 million shares worth 10.2 trillion won. There were 591 decliners and 297 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial shed 0.44 percent, while KB Financial spiked 2.01 percent, Hana Financial collected 1.01 percent, Samsung Electronics dropped 0.96 percent, Samsung SDI skyrocketed 13.03 percent, LG Electronics perked 0.21 percent, SK Hynix strengthened 1.23 percent, Naver lost 0.42 percent, LG Chem rallied 1.33 percent, Lotte Chemical declined 0.81 percent, S-Oil stumbled 0.95 percent, SK Innovation soared 2.68 percent, POSCO improved 0.80 percent, SK Telecom eased 0.19 percent, KEPCO tumbled 1.83 percent, Hyundai Mobis slid 0.39 percent, Hyundai Motor fell 0.40 percent and Kia Motors was down 0.71 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and remained solidly in the green throughout the session, with the S&P and NASDAQ hitting fresh closing highs.

The Dow climbed130.30 points or 0.34 percent to finish at 38,791.35, while the NASDAQ surged 2.41.83 points or 1.51 percent to end at 16,273.38 and the S&P 500 rallied 52.60 points or 1.03 percent to close at 5,157.36.

The extended rebound on Wall Street came on optimism about the outlook for interest rates after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told Congress on Thursday that rate cuts "can and will" begin this year.

Adding to the optimism about interest rates, the European Central Bank lowered its annual inflation forecast while announcing its widely expected decision to leave rates unchanged.

Potentially adding to the buying interest on Wall Street, treasury yields saw further downside on the day, with the ten-year yield falling to its lowest closing level in a month.

Oil prices drifted lower on Thursday amid some concerns about the outlook for demand, although the downside was limited by a weaker greenback. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April fell $0.20 or 0.3 percent at $78.93 a barrel.