South Korea Stock Market Due For Consolidation On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in five straight sessions, collecting more than 100 points or 3.9 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 2,615-point plateau although investors figure to lock in gains on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, largely due to expectations of profit taking following recent gains. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares, automobile producers and technology stocks.

For the day, the index jumped 45.75 points or 1.78 percent to finish at 2,614.30 after trading between 2,584.85 and 2,615.38. Volume was 559.4 million shares worth 11.02 trillion won. There were 682 gainers and 204 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial rallied 2.31 percent, while KB Financial soared 2.31 percent, Hana Financial collected 1.90 percent, Samsung Electronics jumped 1.91 percent, Samsung SDI spiked 2.55 percent, LG Electronics advanced 0.92 percent, SK Hynix strengthened 1.66 percent, Naver dropped 0.90 percent, LG Chem added 0.40 percent, Lotte Chemical climbed 1.60 percent, S-Oil improved 0.72 percent, SK Innovation gained 0.58 percent, SK Telecom perked 0;20 percent, KEPCO rose 0.27 percent, Hyundai Mobis surged 2.46 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 3.59 percent, Kia Motors skyrocketed 6.38 percent and POSCO was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages hugged the line for most of Wednesday's session but turned sharply lower heading into the close.

The Dow plunged 475.92 points or 1.27 percent to finish at 37,082.00, while the NASDAQ tumbled 225.28 points or 1.50 percent to close at 14,777.94 and the S&P 500 slumped 70.02 points or 1.47 percent to end at 4,698.36.

The late-day sell-off on Wall Street was largely attributed to profit taking, with traders cashing in on the strong upward move seen in recent sessions.

A steep drop by shares of FedEx (FDX) also weighed on the markets, with the delivery giant plunging by 12.1 percent after the company reported weaker than expected fiscal Q2 results and lowered its full-year revenue guidance.

In economic news, the Conference Board noted a much bigger than expected improvement in U.S. consumer confidence in December, while the National Association of Realtors showed an unexpected rebound in U.S. existing home sales last month.

Oil prices climbed higher Wednesday on concerns about trade disruptions in the Middle East after attacks on vessels in the Red Sea. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $0.28 or 0.4 percent at $74.22 a barrel.