Additional Support Expected For South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Friday, one day after ending the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 60 points or 2.4 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,625-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the outlooks for tariffs and trade. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Friday as gains from the financials and automobile producers were offset by weakness from the technology and chemical companies.

For the day, the index rose 5.51 points or 0.21 percent to finish at 2,626.87 after trading between 2,619.10 and 2,633.98. Volume was 354.4 million shares worth 7.93 trillion won. There were 578 decliners and 315 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial perked 0.19 percent, while Hana Financial collected 0.46 percent, Samsung Electronics sank 0.87 percent, Samsung SDI tanked 2.95 percent, LG Electronics shed 0.42 percent, SK Hynix spiked 2.00 percent, Naver sank 0.74 percent, LG Chem plunged 4.40 percent, Lotte Chemical lost 0.68 percent, SK Innovation slumped 1.13 percent, POSCO Holdings skidded 1.00 percent, SK Telecom rallied 2.15 percent, KEPCO surged 5.66 percent, Hyundai Motor added 0.47 percent, Kia Motors advanced 0.88 percent and KB Financial and Hyundai Mobis were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages shook off a soft start on Friday and continued to trend higher throughout the day, ending at session highs.

The Dow rallied 331.94 points or 0.78 percent to finish at 42,654.74, while the NASDAQ added 98.80 points or 0.52 percent to close at 19,211.10 and the S&P 500 gained 41.45 points or 0.70 percent to end at 5,958.38.

For the week, the NASDAQ surged 7.2 percent, the S&P spiked 5.3 percent and the Dow soared 3.4 percent.

News of the U.S.-China trade deal generated considerable buying interest that carried over for much of the week. While uncertainty remains about the U.S. and its trade partners reaching deals that permanently lower tariffs, traders have continued to express optimism.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off data from the University of Michigan showing consumer sentiment in the U.S. has unexpectedly continued to deteriorate in the month of May.

Crude oil futures showed a strong move to the upside on Friday amid optimism about U.S. trade policies. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery jumped $0.87 or 1.4 percent to $62.49 a barrel. For the week, the price of crude oil surged 2.4 percent.