KOSPI May Extend Its Gains On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the 11-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 300 points or 9.6 percent. Now at a fresh record closing high, the KOSPI sits just beneath the 3,470-point plateau and it may tick higher again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets continued to be mildly positive on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference. The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the automobile producers and mixed performances from the financial shares, chemicals and technology stocks. For the day, the index added 23.41 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 3,468.65 after trading between 3,458.87 and 3,482.25. Volume was 280.84 million shares worth 11.84 trillion won. There were 545 decliners and 332 gainers. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial fell 0.43 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.34 percent, Hana Financial dipped 0.33 percent, Samsung Electronics surged 4.77 percent, Samsung SDI rallied 2.82 percent, LG Electronics improved 0.76 percent, SK Hynix shed 0.57 percent, Naver sank 0.85 percent, LG Chem jumped 1.69 percent, Lotte Chemical lost 0.76 percent, SK Innovation perked 0.19 percent, POSCO Holdings dropped 0.88 percent, SK Telecom slumped 0.72 percent, KEPCO advanced 0.98 percent, Hyundai Mobis strengthened 1.46 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 1.87 percent and Kia Motors rose 0.30 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is mildly positive as the major averages open in the red on Monday but quickly bounced higher and continued to trend that way throughout the session, ending near daily highs.

The Dow added 66.27 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 46,381.54, while the NASDAQ jumped 157.50 points or 0.70 percent to close at 22,788.98 and the S&P 500 gained 29.39 points or 0.44 percent to end at 6,693.75.

Profit taking contributed to the initial weakness on Wall Street, with some traders looking to cash in on the recent strength in the markets.

Selling pressure waned shortly after the start of trading, however, as traders remain optimistic about the outlook for the markets amid expectations of further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

After cutting rates by a quarter point last Wednesday, the Fed is widely expected to lower rates by another quarter at each of its next two meetings in October and December.

Crude oil was little changed on Monday amid lingering oversupply concerns after OPEC agreed earlier this month to boost production starting in October. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $0.05 or 0.08 percent at $62.73 per barrel.