The South Korea stock market has finished higher in four straight days, gathering more than 40 points or 1.3 percent on its way to a fresh record closing high. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 3,260-point plateau although investors figure to cash in on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft ahead of the FOMC statement later today. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Tuesday as gains from the oil companies and technology stocks were capped by weakness from the financials and automobile producers.
For the day, the index added 6.50 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 3,258.63 after trading between 3,247.90 and 3,262.80. Volume was 1.7 billion shares worth 14.5 trillion won. There were 443 decliners and 399 gainers.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial rose 0.12 percent, while KB Financial lost 0.53 percent, Hana Financial fell 0.33 percent, Samsung Electronics added 0.50 percent, LG Electronics gained 0.63 percent, SK Hynix climbed 1.18 percent, LG Chem dropped 0.85 percent, Lotte Chemical rallied 2.42 percent, S-Oil spiked 2.93 percent, SK Innovation surged 3.96 percent, POSCO sank 0.73 percent, SK Telecom retreated 0.90 percent, KEPCO eased 0.19 percent, Hyundai Motor shed 0.42 percent, Kia Motors dipped 0.11 percent and Naver was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and remained in the red throughout the trading day.
The Dow shed 94.42 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 34,299.33, while the NASDAQ dropped 101.29 points or 0.71 percent to end at 14,072.86 and the S&P 500 fell 8.56 points or 0.20 percent to close at 4,246.59.
The selling pressure on Wall Street came as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement later today.
The two-day Fed meeting that began today is not likely to result in any changes to monetary policy, but the central bank could signal that it is beginning to think about scaling back its asset purchases.
The Fed announcement on Wednesday is likely to acknowledge the recent increase in inflation, which was highlighted by Tuesday’s Labor Department report showing record annual producer price growth.
In other economic news, the Commerce Department said retail sales tumbled by more than expected in May, while the Fed said industrial production increased more than expected last month.
Crude oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday, with traders betting on hopes demand for oil will see a significant increase in the second of this year amid signs of a strong economic rebound from the pandemic. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended up $1.24 or 1.8 percent at $72.12 a barrel, the highest settlement in more than years.
Market Analysis
South Korea Bourse Likely To Run Out Of Steam
2021-06-15 23:00:06
