KOSPI Poised To Extend Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, gathering more than 40 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,510-point plateau and it may add to its winnings again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on continued optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and chemical companies.

For the day, the index perked 1.28 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 2,511.70. Volume was 433.37 million shares worth 7.66 trillion won. There were 428 gainers and 421 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial fell 0.27 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.74 percent, Hana Financial slid 0.24 percent, Samsung SDI strengthened 1.18 percent, LG Electronics sank 0.74 percent, SK Hynix declined 0.53 percent, Naver jumped 1.47 percent, LG Chem added 0.60 percent, Lotte Chemical lost 0.45 percent, SK Innovation perked 0.07 percent, POSCO shed 0.42 percent, SK Telecom eased 0.19 percent, KEPCO climbed 1.06 percent, Hyundai Mobis dropped 0.86 percent, Hyundai Motor slumped 0.65 percent, Kia Motors stumbled 0.60 percent and S-Oil and Samsung Electronics were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and remained in the green throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 184.74 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 35,273.03, while the NASDAQ gained 65.88 points or 0.46 percent to end at 14,265.86 and the S&P 500 rose 18.43 points or 0.41 percent to close at 4,556.62.

The strength on Wall Street came as continued optimism about the outlook for interest rates contributed to renewed buying interest following the previous day's pullback.

While the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting failed to provide any indications the central bank plans to cut interest rates in the near future, CME Group's FedWatch Tool suggests the next move will be a rate cut in mid-2024.

In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week. Also, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods pulled back by much more than expected in October.

Crude oil futures settled lower Wednesday after data showed a notable increase in crude inventory in the U.S., and after OPEC postponed a key meeting by four days. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended down $0.67 or 0.86 percent at $77.10 a barrel.