KOSPI May Reclaim 2,700-Point Level

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Tuesday's market holiday for the presidential election, the South Korea stock market had bounced higher again on Monday, one session after ending the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 80 points or 3.1 percent. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,700-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the outlook for tariffs and the economy. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished barely higher on Monday as gains from the technology shares were capped by weakness from the financials, chemicals and industrials.

For the day, the index rose 1.30 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 2,698.97 after trading between 2,685.14 and 2,719.87. Volume was 320.32 million shares worth 7.99 trillion won. There were 523 decliners and 369 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial crashed 3.96 percent, while KB Financial plunged 4.12 percent, Hana Financial tumbled 3.71 percent, Samsung Electronics climbed 1.07 percent, Samsung SDI rallied 2.31 percent, LG Electronics shed 0.42 percent, SK Hynix strengthened 1.47 percent, Naver lost 0.53 percent, LG Chem skidded 1.01 percent, Lotte Chemical dropped 0.84 percent, SK Innovation surrendered 2.01 percent, POSCO Holdings stumbled 2.40 percent, SK Telecom added 0.39 percent, KEPCO was down 0.82 percent, Hyundai Mobis cratered 2.57 percent, Hyundai Motor sank 0.70 percent and Kia Motors slumped 1.12 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages shook off early weakness on Tuesday, climbing steadily higher to end near session highs.

The Dow rallied 214.16 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 42,519.64, while the NASDAQ jumped 156.34 points or 0.81 percent to close at 19,398.96 and the S&P 500 added 34.43 points or 0.58 percent to end at 5,970.37.

The continued strength on Wall Street came following the release of a Labor Department report showing an unexpected increase by job openings in the U.S. in the month of April.

Meanwhile, traders continued to await further developments on the trade front a month ahead of the expiration of President Donald Trump's 90-day tariff pause.

While tensions between the U.S. and China have seemingly risen in recent days, traders appear to remain generally optimistic about trade deals being reached.

The price of crude oil showed another strong move to the upside during trading on Tuesday amid ongoing concerns about supply due to escalating geopolitical tensions and stuttering U.S.-Iran nuclear talks. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery jumped $0.89 or 1.4 percent to $63.41 a barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will provide Q1 figures for gross domestic product later this morning, with forecasts suggesting a decline of 0.2 percent on quarter and 0.1 percent on year after adding 0.1 percent on quarter and 1.2 percent on year in the three months prior.

South Korea also will see May figures for consumer prices; in April, inflation was up 0.1 percent on month and 2.1 percent on year.