South Korea Stock Market May See Additional Support

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Monday, one session after ending the seven-day winning streak in which it had picked up more than 225 points or 8.2 percent. The KOSPI now sits just shy of the 2,950-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on hopes for an end to hostilities between Israel and Iran. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares and industrials, while the technology stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index rallied 52.04 points or 1.80 percent to finish at 2,946.66 after trading between 2,886.13 and 2,947.07. Volume was 718.1 million shares worth 14.3 trillion won. There were 619 gainers and 278 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial spiked 2.71 percent, while KB Financial collected 1.70 percent, Hana Financial strengthened 1.53 percent, Samsung Electronics and POSCO Holdings both tumbled 1.89 percent, Samsung SDI retreated 1.86 percent, LG Electronics slipped 0.28 percent, SK Hynix surged 5.31 percent, Naver rallied 4.49 percent, LG Chem declined 1.44 percent, Lotte Chemical added 0.62 percent, SK Innovation fell 0.32 percent, SK Telecom climbed 1.10 percent, KEPCO gained 0.36 percent, Hyundai Mobis jumped 1.24 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 2.43 percent and Kia Motors rose 0.31 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Monday and remained in the green throughout the trading day, ending near session highs.

The Dow jumped 317.30 points or 0.75 percent to finish at 42,515.09, while the NASDAQ rallied 294.39 points or 1.52 percent to close at 19,701.21 and the S&P 500 gained 56.14 points or 0.94 percent to end at 6,033.11.

The rally on Wall Street came as traders looked to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels following the previous session's nosedive, which came after Israel launched a series of airstrikes against Iran.

The rebound on Wall Street also came as traders looked ahead to a meeting of major world leaders at the G7 summit in the Canadian Rockies later this week.

The Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy announcement is also likely to attract attention from traders in the coming days. While the central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, the accompanying statement and Fed officials' latest projections may provide more clarity about the outlook for rates.

Crude oil price fell sharply on Monday after reports that Iran signaled its readiness to end its hostility with Israel. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for July delivery closed down by $1.21 to settle at $71.77 per barrel.