South Korea Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Green Again On Monday

The South Korea stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had fallen more than 30 points or 1.3 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,330-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, thanks to encouraging economic and earnings news. The European and U.S. markets were up sharply and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Friday as gains from the automobile and technology stocks were offset by weakness from the financials and oil and chemical stocks.

For the day, the index added 8.66 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 2,330.98 after trading between 2,293.45 and 2,337.30. Volume was 310.56 million shares worth 7.25 trillion won. There were 601 decliners and 258 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial slumped 1.76 percent, while KB Financial tumbled 2.87 percent, Hana Financial retreated 2.73 percent, Samsung Electronics soared 4.35 percent, Samsung SDI climbed 1.29 percent, LG Electronics advanced 0.78 percent, SK Hynix surged 5.00 percent, Naver dropped 1.07 percent, LG Chem plunged 3.40 percent, Lotte Chemical weakened 2.06 percent, S-Oil surrendered 1.88 percent, SK Innovation skidded 1.16 percent, POSCO perked 0.45 percent, SK Telecom stumbled 2.55 percent, Hyundai Motor added 0.55 percent, Kia Motors rose 0.38 percent and KEPCO and Hyundai Mobis were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Friday and remained firmly in the green throughout the session.

The Dow surged 658.09 points or 2.15 percent to finish at 31,288.26, while the NASDAQ spiked 201.24 points or 1.79 percent to end at 11,452.42 and the S&P 500 jumped 72.78 points or 1.92 percent to close at 3,863.16.

For the week, the NASDAQ slumped by 1.6 percent, the S&P 500 slid by 0.9 percent and the Dow edged down by 0.2 percent.

A positive reaction to the latest earnings news contributed to the rally on Wall Street, fueled by the likes of Citigroup (C) and UnitedHealth (UNH), which exceeded expectations.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said retail sales jumped more than expected last month. Also, the University of Michigan unexpectedly showed a modest improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment in July. And the Labor Department said U.S. import prices crept up much less than expected in June.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Friday, buoyed by reports that an increase in Saudi oil output is unlikely for now. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $1.81 or 1.9 percent at $97.59 a barrel. WTI crude futures shed nearly 7 percent in the week.

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