Renewed Support Anticipated For South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market headed south again on Wednesday, one session after snapping the three-day losing streak in which it had dropped almost 70 points or 2.9 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,375-point plateau although it's expected to bounce higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on bargain hunting and easing concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were sharply higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks and oil companies, while the automobile producers offered mild support.

For the day, the index retreated 33.56 points or 1.39 percent to finish at 2,376.46 after trading between 2,365.35 and 2,398.40. Volume was 370.02 million shares worth 7.29 trillion won. There were 768 decliners and 119 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial skidded 1.15 percent, while KB Financial tumbled 2.70 percent, Hana Financial plunged 3.03 percent, Samsung Electronics tanked 1.93 percent, LG Electronics slumped 2.48 percent, SK Hynix stumbled 1.53 percent, Naver weakened 1.49 percent, LG Chem gained 0.65 percent, Lotte Chemical dipped 0.29 percent, S-Oil plummeted 4.14 percent, SK Innovation declined 1.60 percent, POSCO surrendered 2.57 percent, SK Telecom climbed 1.36 percent, KEPCO retreated 1.51 percent, Hyundai Motor added 0.50 percent, Kia Motors advanced 1.11 percent and Hyundai Mobis was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened slightly higher on Wednesday but accelerated as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow surged 435.98 points or 1.40 percent to finish at 31,581.28, while the NASDAQ rallied 246.99 points or 2.14 percent to end at 11,791.90 and the S&P 500 jumped 71.68 points or 1.83 percent to close at 3,979.87.

The rally on Wall Street came as traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness, which dragged the major averages down to their lowest levels in over a month; traders may now feel that interest rate concerns have been priced into the markets.

The rebound also came amid a pullback by treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note receding after reaching a nearly three-month high on Tuesday.

Stocks saw further upside following the release of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, which said economic activity in the U.S. has been essentially unchanged since early July. Also, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit narrowed significantly in July.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Wednesday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand amid rising fears of a global recession. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended lower by $4.94 or 5.7 percent at $81.94 a barrel, the lowest settlement since January 11.