Mild Upside Seen For South Korea Stock Market

The South Korea stock market on Tuesday wrote a finish to the three-day slide in which it had stumbled more than 30 points or 1.3 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,465-point plateau and it may tick higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with little movement expected as support from technology stocks will likely be offset by weakness from oil companies. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Tuesday as gains from the automobile and technology stocks were capped hard by profit taking among the financials.

For the day, the index gained 12.94 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 2,465.64. Volume was 343.4 million shares worth 6.66 trillion won. There were 490 gainers and 374 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial tanked 3.31 percent, while KB Financial plunged 4.16 percent, Hana Financial plummeted 4.39 percent, Samsung Electronics added 0.48 percent, Samsung SDI rallied 2.21 percent, LG Electronics skyrocketed 5.69 percent, SK Hynix spiked 2.87 percent, Naver improved 0.45 percent, LG Chem climbed 0.90 percent, Lotte Chemical plunged 2.71 percent, S-Oil retreated 1.61 percent, SK Innovation dropped 0.95 percent, POSCO advanced 0.82 percent, KEPCO shed 0.67 percent, Hyundai Mobis jumped 2.65 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 1.22 percent, Kia Motors gained 0.41 percent and SK Telecom was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street provides little clarity as the major averages went on a volatile ride Tuesday that saw them finish on opposite sides of the unchanged line.

The Dow slumped 162.12 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 34,083, while the NASDAQ advanced 70.99 points or 0.60 percent to close at 11,962.78 and the S&P 500 dipped 0.96 points or 0.02 percent to end at 4,136.33.

The volatility on Wall Street followed the release of closely watched U.S. inflation data, which could have a significant effect on the Federal Reserve’s strategy regarding interest rate hikes.

The Labor Department’s report showed that U.S. consumer prices increased in line with estimates in January, probably dashing hopes that the Federal Reserve might further ease the pace of its interest rate hikes.

Crude oil prices slumped on Tuesday afternoon, dropping after the release of the U.S. inflation data before coming up off daily lows. West Texas Intermediate was down $1.01 or 1.26 percent to $79.13 per barrel, coming off a low of $77.46 earlier in the day.