South Korea Shares May Stop The Bleeding On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved lower in consecutive trading days, slumping more than 20 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just shy of the 2,610-point plateau although it figures to find traction on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares and automobile producers, while the technology and chemical companies were mixed.

For the day, the index lost 11.38 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 2,607.62. Volume was 485.85 million shares worth 11.75 trillion won. There were 723 decliners and 171 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial retreated 1.32 percent, while KB Financial skidded 1.03 percent, Hana Financial dipped 0.13 percent, Samsung Electronics tumbled 1.77 percent, Samsung SDI gained 0.58 percent, LG Electronics slumped 0.57 percent, SK Hynix added 0.51 percent, Naver climbed 1.21 percent, LG Chem strengthened 1.34 percent, Lotte Chemical lost 0.66 percent, S-Oil advanced 0.88 percent, SK Innovation surged 3.96 percent, POSCO rallied 2.09 percent, SK Telecom fell 0.33 percent, KEPCO improved 1.05 percent, Hyundai Mobis tanked 2.25 percent, Hyundai Motor dropped 0.98 percent and Kia Motors sank 0.81 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday but took off shortly thereafter, ending near session highs.

The Dow spiked 366.58 points or 1.06 percent to finish at 34,951.93, while the NASDAQ advanced 108.69 points or 0.76 percent to end at 14,353.64 and the S&P 500 gained 32.19 points or 0.71 percent to close at 4,554.98.

The rally on Wall Street followed the release of earnings news from financial giants like Bank of America (BAC), Morgan Stanley (MS), Bank of New York Mellon (BK) and PNC Financial Services (PNC), which all beat the street.

Traders also reacted positively to the release of separate reports showing a smaller than expected increase in retail sales and an unexpected decrease in industrial production.

While the reports led to some concerns about the strength of the economy, the data has added to recent optimism about the Federal Reserve nearing the end of its interest rate hiking cycle.

Crude oil prices moved higher on Tuesday for the first time in three days as the dollar slipped after soft data. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $1.60 or 2.2 percent at $75.75 a barrel.