South Korea Stock Market May Run Out Of Steam

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, advancing almost 70 points or 3.2 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,335-point plateau although investors may lock in gains on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on concerns about the outlook for interest rates following the FOMC's rate decision. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished barely higher on Wednesday following gains from the oil and chemical companies, while the financials, technology stocks and automobile producers were mixed.

For the day, the index perked 1.65 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 2,336.87 after trading between 2,323.37 and 2,346.32. Volume was 443.8 billion shares worth 9.4 trillion won. There were 461 decliners and 394 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial retreated 1.23 percent, while KB Financial climbed 1.27 percent, Hana Financial fell 0.24 percent, Samsung Electronics shed 0.67 percent, Samsung SDI plummeted 4.61 percent, SK Hynix gained 0.72 percent, Naver rallied 2.05 percent, LG Chem tanked 3.31 percent, Lotte Chem spiked 3.23 percent, S-Oil surged 5.27 percent, SK Innovation added 0.55 percent, POSCO strengthened 1.57 percent, SK Telecom rose 0.20 percent, KEPCO plunged 2.62 percent, Hyundai Mobis advanced 0.92 percent, Hyundai Motor improved 0.30 percent and Kia Corporation eased 0.15 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages hugged the line for most of Wednesday's session but turned sharply lower after the FOMC decision.

The Dow plunged 505.44 points or 1.55 percent to finish at 32,147.76, while the NASDAQ tumbled 366.05 points or 3.36 percent to close at 10,524.80 and the S&P 500 slumped 96.41 points or 2.50 percent to end at 3,759.69.

The late-day volatility came after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points in an effort to rein in inflation.

The Fed noted that future rate hikes will "take into account the cumulative tightening of monetary policy, the lags with which monetary policy affects economic activity and inflation, and economic and financial developments."

But comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell tamped down optimism about the outlook for interest rates: "It is very premature, in my view, to think about or be talking about pausing our rate hikes. We have a ways to go."

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday after data showed declines in crude and gasoline stockpiles in the U.S. last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December climbed $1.63 or 1.8 percent at $90.00 a barrel.