South Korea Bourse May Reclaim 2,500-Point Level

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Monday, one session after ending the three-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 80 points or 3.3 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,490-point plateau and it may see additional support on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on continued optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. bourses were solidly higher and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

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

For the day, the index advanced 21.35 points or 0.86 percent to finish at 2,491.20 after trading between 2,464.04 and 2,499.75. Volume was 319.84 million shares worth 6.5 trillion won. There were 648 gainers and 229 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.55 percent, while KB Financial retreated 1.28 percent, Samsung Electronics was up 0.28 percent, Samsung SDI surged 3.72 percent, LG Electronics advanced 0.85 percent, SK Hynix climbed 1.15 percent, Naver rose 0.25 percent, LG Chem spiked 1.96 percent, Lotte Chemical strengthened 1.23 percent, S-Oil rallied 2.21 percent, SK Innovation soared 3.31 percent, POSCO jumped 1.83 percent, SK Telecom perked 0.19 percent, KEPCO eased 0.11 percent, Hyundai Mobis tumbled 1.74 percent, Hyundai Motor shed 0.43 percent, Kia Motors dropped 0.94 percent and Hana Financial was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened modestly higher on Monday but accelerated throughout the day, ending near session highs.

The Dow jumped 203.76 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 35,151.04, while the NASDAQ rallied 159.05 points or 1.13 percent to close at 14,284.53 and the S&P 500 gained 33.36 points or 0.74 percent to end at 4,547.38.

The strength on Wall Street reflected recent upward momentum, which comes amid ongoing optimism about the outlook for interest rates. Recent data showing signs of easing inflation has reinforced investor expectations that the Federal Reserve will leave rates unchanged at upcoming meetings.

Stocks saw further upside in afternoon trading as treasury yields pulled back following the release of the results of the Treasury Department's auction of $16 billion worth of 20-year bonds.

In economic news, the Conference Board released a report showing its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators fell by more than expected in October.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Monday amid expectations that OPEC will further extend its voluntary output cuts next week, while the dollar's weakness also contributed to the jump in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $1.79 or 2.4 percent at $77.83 a barrel.