KOSPI Tipped To Reverse Wednesday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Wednesday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 40 points or 1.6 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,510-point plateau although it's expected to bounce higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were solidly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks and industrials.

For the day, the index sank 24.61 points or 0.97 percent to finish at 2,510.66 after trading between 2,509.89 and 2,531.23. Volume was 367 million shares worth 7.32 trillion won. There were 596 decliners and 270 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial fell 0.27 percent, while KB Financial slumped 1.15 percent, Hana Financial skidded 1.07 percent, Samsung Electronics dropped 0.95 percent, Samsung SDI plunged 3.59 percent, LG Electronics declined 0.93 percent, SK Hynix perked 0.15 percent, LG Chem tanked 2.54 percent, Lotte Chemical gained 0.19 percent, S-Oil sank 0.75 percent, SK Innovation tumbled 1.87 percent, POSCO plummeted 3.21 percent, SK Telecom eased 0.10 percent, KEPCO shed 0.57 percent, Hyundai Mobis dipped 0.22 percent, Hyundai Motor lost 0.32 percent and Kia Motors and Naver were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages were flat for most of the day but surged in the afternoon following the Federal Reserve's rate decision.

The Dow surged 512.30 points or 1.40 percent to finish at a record 37,090.24, while the NASDAQ rallied 200.57 points or 1.38 percent to end at 14,733.96 and the S&P 500 gained 63.39 points or 1.37 percent to close at 4,707.09.

The surge on Wall Street came after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged while also confirming plans to pivot to cutting rates next year.

The accompanying statement said the decision came as economic growth has slowed from its strong pace in the third quarter, while inflation has eased over the past year.

The projections provided by the Fed also suggest the central bank will begin cutting rates next year, with the median forecast indicating rates will be lowered to 4.6 percent by the end of 2024.

Oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday after data showed a bigger than expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $0.86 or 1.3 percent at $69.47 a barrel.