KOSPI May Reclaim The 2,500-Point Level

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Tuesday snapped the two-day slide n which it had stumbled more than 80 points or 3.1 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,480-point plateau and it may see additional support on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing concerns of a trade war. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

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

For the day, the index climbed 27.74 points or 1.13 percent to finish at 2,481.69 after trading between 2,471.63 and 2,508.35. Volume was 473 million shares worth 18.8 trillion won. There were 690 gainers and 207 decliners. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 1.59 percent, while KB Financial jumped 2.82 percent, Hana Financial soared 3.71 percent, Samsung Electronics rallied 3.33 percent, Samsung SDI slumped 1.20 percent, LG Electronics rose 0.26 percent, SK Hynix perked 0.10 percent, Naver added 0.69 percent, LG Chem plummeted 4.05 percent, Lotte Chemical skidded 1.11 percent, SK Innovation fell 0.26 percent, POSCO Holdings plunged 4.83 percent, SK Telecom shed 0.36 percent, Hyundai Mobis tumbled 1.75 percent, Hyundai Motor lost 0.50 percent, Kia Motors gained 0.62 percent and KEPCO was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday but trended upward throughout the session to finish solidly in the green and at session highs.

The Dow climbed 134.13 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 44,556.04, while the NASDAQ rallied 262.06 points or 1.35 percent to close at 19,654.02 and the S&P 500 gained 43.31 points or 0.72 percent to end at 6,037.88.

The strength on Wall Street partly reflected easing concerns about a global trade war after President Donald Trump agreed to pause 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada for a month.

Positive sentiment was also generated in reaction to a report from the Labor Department showing job openings in the U.S. fell by much more than expected in December.

The data led to some optimism about the outlook for interest rates ahead of the release of the Labor Department's more closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday as Trump agreed to postpone levies on Canada and Mexico's exports to the United States. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March settled at $72.70 a barrel, down $0.46 or about $0.63 percent.

Closer to home, South Korea will release January numbers for consumer prices later this morning. Inflation is expected to increase 0.4 percent on month and 2.0 percent on year after rising 0.4 percent on month and 1.9 percent on year in December.