Rebound Anticipated For South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Tuesday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 50 points or 1.8 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,660-point plateau although it's likely to bounce higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on easing treasury yields. 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 modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares and automobile producers, while the technology stocks were mixed and the chemical companies offered support.

For the day, the index sank 20.42 points or 0.76 percent to finish at 2,662.10 after trading between 2,659.43 and 2,679.47. Volume was 759.2 million shares worth 12.5 trillion won. There were 642 decliners and 226 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial plunged 3.40 percent, while KB Financial tanked 2.14 percent, Hana Financial plummeted 3.67 percent, Samsung Electronics shed 0.53 percent, Samsung SDI and POSCO both rose 0.27 percent, LG Electronics slumped 1.94 percent, SK Hynix fell 0.46 percent, Naver rallied 2.37 percent, LG Chem advanced 0.98 percent, Lotte Chemical climbed 1.09 percent, S-Oil stumbled 3.00 percent, SK Innovation tumbled 1.88 percent, SK Telecom sank 0.78 percent, KEPCO retreated 1.48 percent, Hyundai Motor tanked 2.26 percent, Kia Motors declined 1.41 percent and Hyundai Mobis was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages spent much Tuesday under water before a late rally nudged them modestly up into the green.

The Dow climbed 140.26 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 38,711.29, while the NASDAQ rose 28.38 points or 0.17 percent to close at 16,857.05 and the S&P 500 perked 7.94 points or 0.15 percent to end at 5,291.34.

The higher close by the major averages came on a notable decrease by treasury yields, which extended their recent decline. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note closed lower for the fourth straight session, pulling back further off the nearly one-month closing high last Wednesday.

The continued advance by treasuries came amid signs of weakness in the labor market, with a report from the Labor Department showing a modest decrease in U.S. job openings in April.

On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly jobs report, which could have a significant impact on the outlook for the economy and interest rates.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday, extending losses from the previous session amid concerns about possible oversupply in the market after OPEC decided to phase out voluntary production cuts from October. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for July fell $0.97 or 1.3 percent at $73.25 a barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will release Q1 figures for gross domestic product later this morning. GDP is expected to rise 1.3 percent on quarter and 3.4 percent on year - both steady from the previous three months.