The South Korea stock market has climbed higher in five straight sessions, jumping more than 150 points or 5 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,990-point plateau and it’s poised to extend its gains on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing virus concerns, supported by tech and oil stocks. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and technology stocks, while the oil and automobile companies were mixed.
For the day, the index added 18.47 points or 0.62 percent to finish at 2,991.72 after trading between 2,960.90 and 2,992.31. Volume was 528 million shares worth 9.9 trillion won. There were 586 gainers and 268 decliners.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial and Hana Financial both advanced 0.94 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.70 percent, Samsung Electronics climbed 1.44 percent, LG Electronics spiked1.21 percent, SK Hynix rallied 2.53 percent, Naver dipped 0.26 percent, Lotte Chemical slid 0.22 percent, S-Oil gathered 1.00 percent, SK Innovation shed 0.73 percent, POSCO perked 0.52 percent, SK Telecom rose 0.18 percent, KEPCO improved 1.15 percent, Hyundai Motor added 0.48 percent and Kia Motors sank 0.73 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened sharply higher on Tuesday and stayed that way throughout the session.
The Dow spiked 492.40 points or 1.40 percent to finish at 35,719.43, while the NASDAQ surged 461.76 points or 3.03 percent to close at 15,686.92 and the S&P 500 jumped 95.08 points or 2.07 percent to end at 4,686.75.
Easing concerns about the impact of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus contributed to the continued strength on Wall Street. Indications the variant causes milder symptoms has helped offset worries the new strain could derail the global economic recovery.
Intel (INTC) fueled the rally as the semiconductor giant is jumped 3.1 percent to its best closing level in well over a month. The spike by Intel comes after the company announced its intention to take its self-driving car unit Mobileye public in the U.S. in mid-2022 via an initial public offering.
In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing the U.S. trade deficit narrowed significantly in the month of October amid a spike in the value of exports.
Crude oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday, lifting the most active futures contracts to their highest settlement in two weeks amid rising optimism about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January surged $2.56 or 3.7 percent at $72.05 a barrel.
Market Analysis
KOSPI Likely To Reclaim 3,000-Point Level
2021-12-07 23:00:15
