South Korea Shares May Extend Friday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Friday ended the two-day slide in which it had slipped more than 15 points or 0.6 percent. Now at a one-year closing high, the KOSPI sits just above the 2,600-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on solid U.S. employment data and easing fears of recession. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks, chemical companies and industrials.

For the day, the index jumped 32.19 points or 1.25 percent to finish at 2,601.36. Volume was 559.56 million shares worth 9.16 trillion won. There were 601 gainers and 270 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.72 percent, while KB Financial and S-Oil both improved 1.39 percent, Hana Financial strengthened 1.59 percent, Samsung Electronics jumped 1.83 percent, Samsung SDI advanced 0.99 percent, LG Electronics perked 0.08 percent, Naver rose 0.25 percent, LG Chem soared 4.95 percent, Lotte Chemical increased 0.90 percent, SK Innovation rallied 2.01 percent, POSCO soared 4.29 percent, SK Telecom shed 0.41 percent, KEPCO fell 0.31 percent, Hyundai Mobis gained 0.68 percent, Hyundai Motor climbed 1.01 percent, Kia Motors accelerated 1.19 percent and SK Hynix was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened higher on Friday and accelerated as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow surged 701.16 points or 2.12 percent to finish at 33,762.76, while the NASDAQ jumped 139.77 points or 1,07 percent to end at 13,240.77 and the S&P 500 spiked 61.35 points or 1.45 percent to close at 4,282.37. For the week, the Dow and NASDAQ both jumped 2.0 percent and the S&P climbed 1.8 percent.

The extended rally on Wall Street followed the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing U.S. employment surged by much more than expected in the month of May.

Positive sentiment was also generated in reaction to news the Senate voted to pass the bill raising the U.S. debt ceiling late Thursday night, and President Joe Biden has since made it official with his signature.

The passage of the bill eliminated the threat of a potentially disastrous default by the U.S. government, which had been hanging over the markets in recent weeks.

Oil prices rallied on Friday, extending gains from the previous session following the passage of the debt ceiling bill and amid speculation OPEC may announce a cut in production. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $1.64 or 2.3 percent at $71.74 a barrel.