Win Streak May Continue For South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished higher in six straight sessions, rallying more than 100 points or 4 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,625-point plateau and it may inch higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to higher amidst a lack of strong catalysts. The European and U.S. markets finished barely higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financials and mixed performances from the technology, chemical and automobile companies.

For the day, the index added 16.39 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 2,626.81. Volume was 412.18 million shares worth 12.34 trillion won. There were 478 gainers and 395 decliners.

Among the actives, KB Financial strengthened 1.36 percent, while Hana Financial collected 1.49 percent, Samsung Electronics rallied 1.61 percent, Samsung SDI sank 0.91 percent, LG Electronics rose 0.38 percent, SK Hynix dropped 0.94 percent, Naver added 0.68 percent, LG Chem shed 0.49 percent, Lotte Chemical soared 3.63 percent, SK Innovation lost 0.63 percent, POSCO Holdings declined 0.60 percent, SK Telecom slumped 0.71 percent, Hyundai Mobis climbed 1.02 percent, Hyundai Motor gained 0.35 percent, Kia Motors was down 0.42 percent and Shinhan Financial and KEPCO were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is flat to higher as the major averages spent most of Tuesday in the shallow red before a late push nudged them barely into positive territory at the close.

The Dow added 10.26 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 44,556.34, while the NASDAQ rose 14.49 points or 0.07 percent to close at 20,041.26 and the S&P gained 14.95 points or 0.24 percent to end at a record 6,139.58.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as some traders remained on the sidelines following the Presidents' Day holiday on Monday.

In economic news, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York noted a turnaround by regional manufacturing activity in February. Also, the National Association of Home Builders said homebuilder confidence in the U.S. has unexpectedly deteriorated in February.

Oil prices moved higher on Tuesday on supply concerns after Ukraine launched a drone attack on an export pipeline in Russia. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March settled at $71.85 a barrel, gaining $1.11, or 1.57 percent.