Win Streak May End For South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, although it has picked up just 8 points or 0.3 percent in that span. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,750-point plateau although the rally may stall on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were own and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.

The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Tuesday following gains from the energy companies, weakness from the industrials and chemicals and mixed performances from the financials and technology stocks.

For the day, the index added 5.30 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 2,753.16. Volume was 618.07 million shares worth 12.9 trillion won. There were 276 decliners and 220 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial retreated 1.43 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.73 percent, Hana Financial perked 0.18 percent, Samsung Electronics surged 3.66 percent, Samsung SDI dipped 0.22 percent, SK Hynix added 0.43 percent, Naver stumbled 1.18 percent, LG Chem tanked 2.42 percent, Lotte Chemical dropped 0.96 percent, S-Oil soared 3.08 percent, SK Innovation rallied 1.34 percent, POSCO tumbled 2.03 percent, SK Telecom declined 1.34 percent, KEPCO plunged 2.49 percent, Hyundai Mobis slumped 1.39 percent, Hyundai Motor surrendered 3.30 percent, Kia Motors plummeted 3.68 percent and LG Electronics was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and remained in the red throughout the session.

The Dow plunged 396.61 points or 1.00 percent to finish at 39,170.24, while the NASDAQ tumbled 156.38 points or 0.95 percent to close at 16,240.45 and the S&P 500 sank 37.96 points or 0.72 percent to end at 5,205.81.

The sell-off on Wall Street reflected renewed uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates as traders digested recent U.S. inflation and manufacturing data, which has raised questions about whether the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates in June.

Treasury yields moved sharply higher in reaction to the data and saw further upside during Tuesday's session, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note reaching a four-month high.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department reported a significant rebound in factory orders in February.

Oil prices hit a five-month high on Tuesday amid rising demand following solid manufacturing activity data from the U.S. and China. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $1.44 or 1.72 percent at $85.15 a barrel, the highest settlement since last October.