South Korea Shares May Extend Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting almost 30 points or 1.2 percent in that span. The KOSPI now sits just shy of the 2,610-point plateau and it's tipped to open to the upside again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher on better-than-expected inflation data. The European and U.S. markets were mostly higher and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished barely higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and automobile producers, while the technology stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index perked 1.09 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 2,608.42 after trading between 2,601.58 and 2,620.64. Volume was 413.3 million shares worth 8.32 trillion won. There were 450 gainers and 418 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial perked 0.19 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.43 percent, Samsung Electronics retreated 1.22 percent, Samsung SDI stumbled 2.29 percent, LG Electronics rose 0.27 percent, SK Hynix jumped 1.79 percent, Naver skidded 1.05 percent, LG Chem plunged 3.56 percent, Lotte Chemical tanked 2.76 percent, SK Innovation surrendered 2.59 percent, POSCO stumbled 2.09 percent, SK Telecom slumped 1.15 percent, KEPCO plummeted 4.28 percent, Hyundai Mobis declined 1.53 percent, Hyundai Motor gained 0.46 percent, Kia Motors accelerated 1.41 percent and Hana Financial was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed as the Dow opened in the red and remained there throughout, while the NASDAQ and S&P 500 were in positive territory from start to finish.

The Dow slumped 269.67 points or 0.64 percent to finish at 42,140.43, while the NASDAQ surged 301.74 points or 1.61 percent to close at 19,010.08 and the S&P 500 gained 42.36 points or 0.72 percent to end at 5,886.55.

The continued strength in the broader markets followed the release of a Labor Department report showing consumer prices in the U.S. rose less than expected in April.

The slightly tamer-than-expected inflation data eased concerns about President Donald Trump's new tariffs on U.S. trade partners leading to higher prices.

Meanwhile, a steep drop by shares of UnitedHealth (UNH) weighed on the Dow, with the healthcare giant plunging by 17.8 percent after the company suspended its full-year guidance.

Crude oil prices showed another significant move to the upside on Tuesday, reaching its highest closing level in almost a month on optimism about the outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery surged $1.72 or 2.8 percent to $63.67 a barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will release April numbers for unemployment later this morning; in March, the jobless rate was 2.9 percent.