South Korea Shares Tipped To Open In The Green

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Thursday emphatically ended the two-day losing streak in which it had dipped just 3 points or 0.1 percent. The KOSPI market now rests just above the 2,540-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with many believing that the heavy selling earlier this week was overdone. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Thursday, led by the exporters after solid data showed an increase in outbound traffic - automobile companies, in particular. Financials also were strong.

For the day, the index spiked 45.37 points or 1.82 percent to finish at the daily high of 2,542.46 after moving as low as 2,491.93. Volume was 741.3 million shares worth 13.3 trillion won. There were 668 gainers and 239 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial rallied 4.04 percent, while KB Financial surged 8.30 percent, Hana Financial soared 8.79 percent, Samsung Electronics improved 1.24 percent, Samsung SDI strengthened 1.34 percent, LG Electronics rose 1.71 percent, SK Hynix retreated 1.48 percent, Naver added 1.00 percent, LG Chem slumped 1.04 percent, Lotte Chemical climbed 7.19 percent, S-Oil sank 0.73 percent, SK Innovation gained 3.50 percent, POSCO jumped 2.58 percent, SK Telecom advanced 1.20 percent, KEPCO spiked 3.19 percent, Hyundai Mobis increase 4.52 percent, Hyundai Motor skyrocketed 6.89 percent and Kia Motors accelerated 3.30 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday and largely accelerated as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow rallied 369.54 points or 0.97 percent to finish at 38,519.84, while the NASDAQ jumped 197.63 points or 1.30 percent to end at 15,361.64 and the S&P 500 gained 60.54 points or 1.25 percent to close at 4,906.19.

The rebound on Wall Street came as traders picked up stocks at reduced levels after Wednesday's selloff. The Federal Reserve signals that an interest rate cut in March is unlikely, but economists believe it is a matter of "when, not if" the central bank will eventually lower rates.

A continued decrease by treasury yields may also have contributed to the buying interest, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note falling to its lowest levels in over a month.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits unexpectedly saw a modest increase last week. Also, the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity increased in January but continues to indicate contraction.

Oil futures settled lower on Thursday with traders following the negotiations of a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, although a possible pick-up in energy demand helped limit the downside. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March sank $2.03 or 2.7 percent at $73.82 a barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will provide January numbers for consumer prices later this morning, with forecast suggesting an increase of 0.4 percent on month and 2.9 percent on year. That follows the flat monthly reading and the 3.2 percent yearly increase in December.