South Korea Shares May Extend Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has tracked higher in consecutive trading days, gathering almost 15 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,610-point plateau and it may tick higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic as traders look to add window dressing ahead of the year's end. The European and U.S. markets were slightly higher and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Wednesday as gains from the technology, steel, chemical and energy companies were tempered by weakness from the financial sector.

For the day, the index added 10.91 points or 0.42 percent to finish at the daily high of 2,613.50 after moving as low as 2,590.08. Volume was 345.9 million shares worth 10.3 trillion won. There were 591 decliners and 300 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial fell 0.26 percent, while KB Financial shed 0.38 percent, Hana Financial retreated 1.50 percent, Samsung Electronics jumped 1.83 percent, Samsung SDI rallied 2.14 percent, LG Electronics gained 0.70 percent, SK Hynix slipped 0.35 percent, Naver soared 3.48 percent, LG Chem climbed 1.14 percent, Lotte Chemical spiked 1.26 percent, S-Oil accelerated 1.92 percent, SK Innovation advanced 0.94 percent, POSCO surged 4.01 percent, SK Telecom perked 0.16 percent, KEPCO sank 0.86 percent, Hyundai Mobis was up 1.10 percent, Hyundai Motor eased 0.15 percent and Kia Motors improved 0.73 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is mildly positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, slipped in and out of the red before finishing with modest gains.

The Dow climbed 111.19 points or 0.30 percent to finish at a record 37,656.52, while the NASDAQ added 24.60 points or 0.16 percent to close at 15,099.18 and the S&P 500 rose 6.83 points or 0.14 percent to end at 4,781.58.

The uptick by stocks came as treasury yields moved notably lower over the course of the session, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note falling to its lowest level in five months.

Treasury yields saw further downside after the Treasury Department revealed this month's auction of $58 billion worth of five-year notes attracted average demand.

The decrease in treasury yields has added to optimism about the outlook for interest rates, generating renewed buying interest on Wall Street.

Oil prices fell Wednesday on reports that shipping companies have resumed travel via the Suez Canal and Red Sea again after a geopolitical pause. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February sank $1.46 or 1.9 percent at $74.11 a barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will provide November figures for industrial production and retail sales later this morning. Production is tipped to gain 1.0 percent on month and 3.0 percent on year after slipping 3.5 percent on month and adding 1.1 percent on year in the previous month. Sales were down 0.8 percent on month in October.