South Korea Bourse May Run Out Of Steam On Wednesday

The South Korea stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, collecting almost 60 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 3,220-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets roughly flat, with optimism for economic recovery offset by inflation concerns. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the auto and chemical companies, while the financials, oil and technology stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index gained 17.95 points or 0.56 percent to finish at 3,221.87 after trading between 3,199.18 and 3,233.17. Volume was 1.4 billion shares worth 15.1 trillion won. There were 577 gainers and 272 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 1.30 percent, while Hana Financial fell 0.21 percent, Samsung Electronics rose 0.12 percent, LG Electronics sank 0.33 percent, SK Hynix climbed 1.18 percent, Naver gathered 1.24 percent, LG Chem added 0.73 percent, Lotte Chemical was up 0.18 percent, S-Oil skyrocketed 6.73 percent, SK Innovation shed 0.38 percent, POSCO skidded 1.41 percent, SK Telecom soared 3.47 percent, KEPCO perked 1.16 percent, Hyundai Motor advanced 0.85 percent, Kia Motors increased 0.12 percent and KB Financial was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as stocks opened higher on Tuesday but quickly faded, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before finishing mixed and little changed.

The Dow added 45.86 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 34,575.31, while the NASDAQ fell 12.26 points or 0.09 percent to end at 13,736.48 and the S&) 500 eased 2.07 points or 0.05 percent to close at 4,202.04.

The initial strength on Wall Street came as upbeat manufacturing data from overseas added to optimism about the outlook for the global economy. Also, the Institute for Supply Management said manufacturing activity in the U.S. expanded at a slightly faster pace in May.

Buying interest waned shortly after the start of trading, however, as traders continued to express uncertainty about inflation and the outlook for monetary policy.

Traders may also have been reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday amid optimism for a strong global economic recovery and increased demand following a drop in fresh coronavirus cases and an acceleration in the vaccination drive. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July jumped $1.40 or 2.1 percent at $67.72 a barrel, the highest since October 2018.

Closer to home, South Korea will provide May figures for consumer prices later this morning, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 0.1 percent on month and 2.6 percent on year. That follows the 0.2 percent monthly increase and the 2.3 percent yearly gain in April.

Market Analysis