South Korea Shares Poised To Extend Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, gathering almost 45 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,425-point plateau and it may add to its winnings again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher 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 Thursday following gains from the chemicals and mixed performances from the financials and technology stocks.

For the day, the index added 7.52 points or 0.31 percent to finish at the daily high of 2,424.48 after moving as low as 2,397.91. Volume was 558.79 million shares worth 10.18 trillion won. There were 667 decliners and 223 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.85 percent, while KB Financial shed 0.41 percent, Hana Financial advanced 0.96 percent, Samsung Electronics jumped 1.96 percent, Samsung SDI spiked 1.91 percent, LG Electronics tumbled 2.10 percent, SK Hynix rallied 1.84 percent, Naver sank 1.45 percent, LG Chem strengthened 1.28 percent, Lotte Chemical surged 3.01 percent, SK Innovation dropped 1.00 percent, POSCO fell 0.30 percent, SK Telecom retreated 1.65 percent, KEPCO improved 0.90 percent, Hyundai Mobis added 0.69 percent, Hyundai Motor perked 0.11 percent, Kia Motors lost 0.63 percent and S-Oil was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages opened firmly higher Thursday, faded into negative territory as the day progressed before a late rally pushed them into the green.

The Dow added 75.14 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 32,105.25, while the NASDAQ surged 117.44 points or 1.01 percent to end at 11,787.40 and the S&P 500 rose 11.75 points or 0.30 percent to close at 3,948.72.

The early rally on Wall Street came as traders continued to react to Wednesday's monetary policy announcement by the Federal Reserve, which indicated the central bank is nearing the end of its tightening cycle.

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as concerns about the recent trouble in the banking sector continue to hang over the markets.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted a slight decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the Commerce Department said new home sales in the U.S. increased from a significantly downwardly revised level in February.

Oil prices drifted lower Thursday on concerns the interest rate hikes by several central banks could slow down economic growth and impact the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for May ended lower by $0.94 or 1.3 percent at $69.96 a barrel.