South Korea Bourse Predicted To Rebound On Wednesday

The South Korea stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 70 points or 2.8 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,625-point plateau although it’s expected to bounce higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with support expected from the oil and technology sectors. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the financials, industrials and technology stocks.

For the day, the index tumbled 44.31 points or 1.66 percent to finish at 2,626.34 after trading between 2,622.78 and 2,662.04. Volume was 517 million shares worth 8.8 trillion won. There were 730 decliners and 163 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial retreated 1.77 percent, while KB Financial slumped 1.37 percent, Hana Financial dropped 1.79 percent, Samsung Electronics tumbled 1.95 percent, LG Electronics plummeted 2.40 percent, SK Hynix tanked 2.80 percent, Naver declined 3.30 percent, LG Chem plunged 4.96 percent, Lotte Chemical stumbled 1.93 percent, S-Oil soared 3.45 percent, SK Innovation surged 4.88 percent, POSCO skidded 1.03 percent, SK Telecom shed 0.71 percent, KEPCO sank 0.86 percent, Hyundai Motor surrendered 1.87 percent and Kia Motors lost 0.60 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages shook off a lower open on Tuesday, picking up steam as the session progressed to end firmly in the green.

The Dow jumped 264.36 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 33,180.14, while the NASDAQ spiked 113.86 points or 0.94 percent to end at 12,175.23 and the S&P 500 gained 39.25 points or 0.95 percent to close at 4,160.68.

Worries about slowing growth, a weak margin guidance from Target, and a sell-off in the technology space contributed to Wall Street’s weakness in early trades. However, top technology stocks soon recovered and the broad market too started climbing higher as well.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit narrowed significantly in the month of April, to $87.1 billion in April from $107.7 billion in March.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Tuesday as prospects of increased demand from China and supply concerns outweighed concerns about growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $0.91 or 0.8 percent at $119.41 a barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will provide final Q1 numbers for gross domestic product this morning, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 0.7 percent on quarter and 3.1 percent on year. That follows the 1.2 percent quarterly increase and the 4.2 percent yearly gain in the previous three months.