Win Streak May End For South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, advancing almost 100 points or 4 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,425-point plateau although investors are likely to cash in on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation ahead of key inflation data and on U.S. political uncertainty. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financials, technology stocks and chemical companies, while the oil and automobile stocks were soft.

For the day, the index climbed 25.37 points or 1.06 percent to finish at 2,424.41 after trading between 2,403.64 and 2,429.65. Volume was 675 million shares worth some 9.2 trillion won. There were 575 gainers and 272 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial rallied 2.33 percent, while KB Financial spiked 2.83 percent, Hana Financial collected 1.10 percent, Samsung Electronics rose 0.32 percent, LG Electronics accelerated 2.08 percent, SK Hynix jumped 1.71 percent, Naver climbed 1.41 percent, LG Chem soared 3.47 percent, Lotte Chemical spiked 2.04 percent, S-Oil tumbled 2.02 percent, SK Innovation skidded 1.08 percent, POSCO surged 3.85 percent, SK Telecom strengthened 1.39 percent, KEPCO skyrocketed 8.77 percent, Hyundai Mobis improved 1.38 percent, Hyundai Motor dipped 0.29 percent and Kia Motors eased 0.15 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened modestly lower on Wednesday but saw the losses accelerate as the day progressed, ending at session lows.

The Dow plummeted 646.89 points or 1.95 percent to finish at 32,513.94, while the NASDAQ plunged 263.03 points or 2.48 percent to close at 10,353.17 and the S&P 500 sank 79.54 points or 2.08 percent to end at 3,748.57.

The sharply pullback on Wall Street came as traders cashed in on recent strength in the markets amid lingering uncertainty about the results of the U.S. midterm elections as control of both houses of Congress remains unclear.

Traders may also be moving money out of stocks ahead today's highly anticipated report on consumer price inflation, which could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.

Crude oil prices tumbled Wednesday, weighed down by a jump in crude stockpiles, concerns about the outlook for energy demand and a stronger U.S. dollar. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended lower by $3.08 or 3.5 percent at $85.83 a barrel, falling for the third consecutive session.