Higher Open Predicted For South Korea Shares

The South Korea stock market on Wednesday ended the two-day slide in which it had slumped almost 30 points or 1.2 percent. The KOSPI market now rests just beneath the 2,610-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher and is likely to be driven by earnings news. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks and industrials.

For the day, the index jumped 33.38 points or 1.30 percent to finish at 2,609.58 after trading between 2,588.09 and 2,625.24. Volume was 508.3 million shares worth 11.3 trillion won. There were 642 gainers and 239 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 1.66 percent, while KB Financial strengthened 2.54 percent, Hana Financial jumped 2.39 percent, Samsung Electronics advanced 0.81 percent, Samsung SDI rallied 2.14 percent, LG Electronics gained 2.38 percent, Naver sank 0.49 percent, LG Chem perked 0.22 percent, Lotte Chemical surged 3.78 percent, S-Oil increased 0.87 percent, SK Innovation was up 0.17 percent, POSCO soared 2.86 percent, SK Telecom improved 1.58 percent, KEPCO climbed 221 percent, Hyundai Mobis skyrocketed 4.33 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 4.03 percent, Kia Motors spiked 2.78 percent and SK Hynix was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and remained in the green throughout the day as the Dow and S&P both hit record closing highs.

The Dow climbed 156.00 points or 0.40 percent to finish at 38,677.36, while the NASDAQ rallied 147.65 points or 0.95 percent to end at 15,756.64 and the S&P 500 gained 40.83 points or 0.82 percent to close at 4,995.06.

The strength on Wall Street reflected recent upbeat economic data, which is still seen as a positive even though it reduces the chance of an interest rate cut next month.

Also supporting the markets were solid earnings news from the likes of solar inverter maker Enphase Energy (ENPH) and auto giant Ford (F).

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing the U.S. trade deficit widened in December.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Wednesday after official data showed a notable drop in gasoline stockpiles last week in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $0.55 at $73.86 a barrel, gaining for a third straight session.