Additional Support Anticipated For South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market rebounded on Tuesday, one day after snapping the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 50 points or 2.3 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,450-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on increasing optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were solidly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the technology stocks, weakness from the oil companies and mixed performances from the financials and chemicals.

For the day, the index improved 13.52 points or 0.55 percent to finish at 2,451.71 after trading between 2,432.40 and 2,456.17. Volume was 443.14 million shares worth 7.48 trillion won. There were 496 decliners and 374 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial fell 0.37 percent, while KB Financial shed 0.36 percent, Hana Financial collected 0.63 percent, Samsung Electronics added 0.49 percent, Samsung SDI strengthened 1.43 percent, LG Electronics rose 0.39 percent, SK Hynix jumped 1.91 percent, Naver spiked 1.86 percent, LG Chem surged 3.50 percent, Lotte Chemical slid 0.28 percent, S-Oil plunged 2.21 percent, SK Innovation plummeted 4.86 percent, POSCO perked 0.17 percent, SK Telecom advanced 0.97 percent, KEPCO lost 0.63 percent, Hyundai Mobis gained 0.49 percent, Hyundai Motor eased 0.12 percent and Kia Motors climbed 1.13 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages shook off flat morning trade on Tuesday, rallying in the afternoon.

The Dow jumped265.67 points or 0.78 percent to finish at 34,156.69, while the NASDAQ surged 226.34 points or 1.90 percent to end at 12,113.79 and the S&P 500 advanced 52.92 points or 1.29 percent to close at 4,164.00.

The late rally on Wall Street came in reaction to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks at the Economic Club of Washington. In a Q&A session, Powell said he expects 2023 to be a year of "significant declines in inflation."

Powell said inflation is beginning to ease, though he expects it to be a long process and cautioned that interest rates could rise more than markets expect if the economic data doesn't cooperate.

Oil prices advanced Tuesday on expectations of higher energy demand from China, and on supply concerns following a massive earthquake in Turkey on Monday. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $3.02 or 4.1 percent at $77.14 a barrel, the highest close since January 31.

Closer to home, South Korea will provide December data for current account later today; in November, the current account deficit was $0.62 billion.