Little Movement Seen For South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting more than 25 points or 1 percent in that span. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 2,550-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed with a touch of upside amidst a lack of catalysts. The European markets were up slightly and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference. The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Monday following gains from the industrial, weakness from the technology and chemical companies and a mixed picture from the financial sector. For the day, the index rose 2.56 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 2,548.86 after trading between 2,541.97 and 2,558.69. Volume was 449.07 million shares worth 7.73 trillion won. There were 519 decliners and 366 gainers. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial sank 0.80 percent, while KB Financial fell 0.35 percent, Hana Financial collected 1.31 percent, Samsung Electronics perked 0.18 percent, Samsung SDI shed 0.49 percent, LG Electronics dropped 0.84 percent, SK Hynix retreated 1.30 percent, Naver climbed 1.03 percent, LG Chem stumbled 1.56 percent, Lotte Chemical tanked 2.83 percent, SK Innovation gained 0.42 percent, POSCO advanced 0.97 percent, SK Telecom plummeted 6.75 percent, KEPCO improved 1.19 percent, Hyundai Mobis was up 0.40 percent, Hyundai Motor rose 0.11 percent and Kia Motors added 0.57 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests little movement as the major averages opened higher on Monday, slumped mid-session but rallied to finish mixed and little changed.

The Dow advanced 114.09 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 40,227.59, while the NASDAQ eased 16.81 points or 0.10 percent to close at 17,366.13 and the S&P 500 perked 3.54 points or 0.06 percent to end at 5,528.75.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves as they look ahead to the release of key earnings and economic news in the coming days.

Quarterly results are due from the likes of Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT), Coca-Cola (KO), Visa (V), Eli Lilly (LLY), Chevron (CVX) and Exxon Mobil (XOM).

The Labor Department's monthly jobs report is also likely to be in focus later this week along with the Federal Reserve's preferred readings on consumer price inflation.

Crude oil prices continued to slump on concerns over tariff threats and their likely impact on the global economy. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was down $115 or 1.82 percent to $61.87 per barrel.