South Korea Shares May Extend Tuesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Tuesday ended the two-day slide in which it had fallen almost 15 points or 0.6 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,600-point plateau and it's expected to add to its winnings on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on strength from technology shares and optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financials and technology stocks, while the industrials were mixed.

For the day, the index rose 3.08 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 2,602.59. Volume was 429.4 million shares worth 9.4 trillion won. There were 491 decliners and 378 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.77 percent, while Hana Financial climbed 1.28 percent, Samsung Electronics advanced 0.92 percent, Samsung SDI sank 0.78 percent, LG Electronics gained 0.30 percent, SK Hynix rose 0.21 percent, Naver added 0.23 percent, LG Chem and SK Telecom both perked 0.10 percent, Lotte Chemical dipped 0.06 percent, S-Oil advanced 0.86 percent, SK Innovation slumped 0.72 percent, POSCO retreated 1.46 percent, KEPCO eased 0.11 percent, Hyundai Mobis shed 0.22 percent, Hyundai Motor fell 0.10 percent, Kia Motors improved 0.73 percent and KB Financial was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street upbeat as the major averages opened modestly higher on Tuesday and continued to tick higher as the day progressed.

The Dow climbed 159.36 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 37,545.33, while the NASDAQ added 81.60 points or 0.54 percent to close at 15,074.57 and the S&P 500 rose 20.12 points or 0.42 percent to end at 4,774.75.

A surge by shares of Intel (INTC) provided a boost to the markets following news the Israeli government will give the company a $3.2 billion grant toward the construction of a new $25 billion chip-making facility in southern Israel.

Stocks also continued to benefit from optimism about the outlook for interest rates following last week's tamer-than-expected consumer price inflation data.

On the heels of the data, CME Group's FedWatch Tool is indicating a 72.7 percent chance the Federal Reserve will cut rates by a quarter point in March.

Oil prices surged higher Tuesday amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and concerns over trade disruptions following attacks on ships. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February jumped $2.01 or 2.7 percent at $75.57 a barrel.