South Korea Shares May Extend Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has tracked higher in two straight sessions, gathering more than 40 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,470-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, fueled by gains from the technology stocks. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the oil and technology stocks, weakness from the financials and chemicals and a mixed picture from the industrials.

For the day, the index advanced 19.08 points or 0.78 percent to finish at 2,468.88. Volume was 682.5 million shares worth 9 trillion won. There were 604 gainers and 264 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial plunged 2,83 percent, while KB Financial tumbled 1.74 percent, Hana Financial plummeted 3.15 percent, Samsung Electronics surged 2.75 percent, Samsung SDI lost 0.56 percent, LG Electronics jumped 1.82 percent, SK Hynix rallied 2.19 percent, Naver soared 2.92 percent, LG Chem retreated 1.74 percent, Lotte Chemical shed 0.50 percent, S-Oil perked 0.23 percent, SK Innovation strengthened 1.41 percent, SK Telecom rose 0.33 percent, KEPCO dropped 0.86 percent, Hyundai Mobis sank 0.96 percent, Hyundai Motor eased 0.06 percent, Kia Motors was up 0.29 percent and POSCO was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is a dichotomy as the Dow opened sharply lower on Thursday and remained in the red throughout, while the NASDAQ and S&P opened higher and stayed solidly in the green.

The Dow dipped 39.02 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 34,053.94, while the NASDAQ surged 384.50 points or 3.25 percent to end at 12,200.82 and the S&P 500 soared 60.55 points or 1.47 percent to end at 4,179.76.

The surge by the NASDAQ came as Meta Platforms (META) led a tech sector rally, with the Facebook parent skyrocketing by 23.3 percent to a nearly eight-month closing high after reporting better than expected Q4 revenues.

Stocks also continued to benefit from a positive reaction to the Federal Reserve's interest rate announcement on Wednesday, with traders expressing optimism the Fed is nearing the end of its rate hiking cycle.

At the same time, the Dow bucked the uptrend due partly to a notable decline by shares of Merck (MRK), which tumbled by 3.3 percent after the drug giant provided disappointing guidance.

Crude oil prices drifted lower Thursday, weighed down by data showing an increase in U.S. crude inventories last week. The dollar's recovery and uncertainty about the outlook for energy demand due to concerns about a global recession also hurt. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March fell $0.53 or 0.7 percent at $75.88 a barrel.