South Korea Stock Market May Reverse Wednesday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market ticked lower again on Wednesday, one day after ending the two-day slide in which it had slipped more than 15 points or 0.4 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,755-point plateau although it may bounce higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on continued optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The KOSPI finished slightly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financials and chemicals, while the technology stocks were up and the industrials were mixed.

For the day, the index eased 1.98 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 2,755.11 after trading between 2,745.00 and 2,762.03. Volume was 482.5 million shares worth 11.3 trillion won. There were 499 decliners and 367 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial plummeted 5.53 percent, while KB Financial plunged 3.90 percent, Hana Financial tanked 4.07 percent, Samsung Electronics eased 0.13 percent, Samsung SDI strengthened 1.59 percent, LG Electronics and Naver both rose 0.21 percent, SK Hynix rallied 2.60 percent, LG Chem retreated 1.46 percent, Lotte Chemical fell 0.33 percent, S-Oil declined 1.64 percent, SK Innovation added 0.48 percent, POSCO slid 0.23 percent, KEPCO gained 0.23 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 1.46 percent, Kia Motors sank 0.70 percent and SK Telecom and Hyundai Mobis were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and largely stayed that way throughout the session.

The Dow surged 477.75 points or 1.22 percent to finish at 39,760.08, while the NASDAQ rallied 83.82 points or 0.51 percent to close at 16,399.52 and the S&P 500 gained 44.91 points or 0.86 percent to end at 5,248.49.

The strength on Wall Street came as traders again looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels after the previous day's mediocre performance.

A decrease by treasury yields also contributed to the strength in the markets amid ongoing optimism about the outlook for interest rates following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement last week. While the Fed left interest rates unchanged, as expected, officials kept their forecast for three rate cuts this year.

Crude oil prices dropped on Wednesday after data showed an unexpected increase in U.S. crude and gasoline inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended lower by $0.27 or 0.33 percent at $81.35 a barrel.

The markets are closed on Good Friday.