KOSPI May Spin Its Wheels On Wednesday

The South Korea stock market on Tuesday wrote a finish to the two-day losing streak in which it had stumbled almost 45 points or 1.8 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,460-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the technology stocks and telecoms, while the financials were soft and the industrials and oil companies were mixed.

For the day, the index climbed 23.93 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 2,460.17. Volume was 500.5 million shares worth 7.6 trillion won. There were 582 gainers and 281 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial shed 0.56 percent, while KB Financial fell 0.35 percent, Hana Financial retreated 1.26 percent, Samsung Electronics surged 3.12 percent, Samsung SDI jumped 1.95 percent, LG Electronics gained 0.66 percent, SK Hynix soared 4.75 percent, Naver lost 0.63 percent, LG Chem improved 0.58 percent, Lotte Chemical and POSCO both sank 0.79 percent, S-Oil plunged 2.58 percent, SK Innovation added 0.40 percent, SK Telecom climbed 1.01 percent, KEPCO perked 0.12 percent, Hyundai Mobis tanked 1.97 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 0.91 percent and Kia Motors tumbled 1.91 percent.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages open sharply lower on Tuesday but fought back into the green before finally settling mixed and little changed.

The Dow rose 13.11 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 33,997,65, while the NASDAQ shed 34.24 points or 0.25 percent to close at 13,533.75 and the S&P 500 eased 0.43 points or 0.01 percent to end at 4,373.20.

The early weakness on Wall Street came after data showed bigger than expected increases in retail sales and industrial production last month, raising concerns the Federal Reserve may keep interest rates higher for longer or even announce a rate hike this year.

Higher bond yields and geopolitical concerns in the Middle East also kept investors wary.

Crude oil futures settled flat on Tuesday after a lackluster session as investors continued to track the developments on the geopolitical front and weighed the outlook for global demand and supply. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended at $86.66 a barrel, unchanged from the previous close.