KOSPI: Resistance Expected At 2.400 Points

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Wednesday snapped the two-day slide in which it had fallen more than 15 points or 0.7 percent. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,400-point plateau although it's likely to head south again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

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

For the day, the index improved 26.85 points or 1.13 percent to finish at 2,399.25 after trading between 2,379.44 and 2,400.18. Volume was 402.37 million shares worth 5.59 trillion won. There were 632 gainers and 226 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial sank 0.78 percent, while KB Financial shed 0.75 percent, Hana Financial fell 0.43 percent, Samsung Electronics improved 1.34 percent, Samsung SDI soared 3.73 percent, LG Electronics jumped 2.04 percent, SK Hynix shed 0.61 percent, Naver perked 0.26 percent, LG Chem surged 3.69 percent, Lotte Chemical plummeted 7.39 percent, S-Oil lost 0.56 percent, SK Innovation rose 0.29 percent, POSCO dipped 0.17 percent, SK Telecom eased 0.10 percent, KEPCO added 0.48 percent, Hyundai Mobis rallied 2.99 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 2.51 percent and Kia Motors rallied 2.56 percent.

The lead from Wall Street ends up negative as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and stayed that way before tumbling after the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement.

The Dow dropped 142.29 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 33,966.35, while the NASDAQ sank 85.93 points or 0.76 percent to close at 11,170.89 and the S&P 500 lost 24.33 points or 0.61 percent to end at 3,995.32.

The lower close on Wall Street came after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to slow the pace of interest rate increases but still signaled further rate hikes ahead.

After raising interest rates by 75 basis points at four consecutive meetings, the Fed announced its decision to raise interest rates by 50 basis points to a target range of 4.25 to 4.50 percent.

But the central bank reiterated that it anticipates ongoing increases in rates will be appropriate. The economic projections provided along with the announcement now suggest the Fed expects rates to be raised higher than forecast in September.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, lifted by an upward revision in demand forecast by the International Energy Agency due to the shutdown of the Keystone pipeline following a massive leak. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $1.89 or 2.5 percent at $77.28 a barrel.