Rally May Stall For South Korea Stock Market

The South Korea stock market has climbed higher in three straight sessions, advancing nearly 80 points or 2.5 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 3,280-point plateau although investors may cash in on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on economic growth concerns, coronavirus woes and tumbling oil prices. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares, industrials and technology stocks, while the oil and chemical companies were mixed.

For the day, the index jumped 43.24 points or 1.34 percent to finish at 3,280.38 after trading between 3,237.55 and 3,283.14. Volume was 621 million shares worth 12.2 trillion won. There were 713 gainers and 149 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.77 percent, while KB Financial rallied 2.13 percent, Hana Financial spiked 2.09 percent, Samsung Electronics jumped 1.84 percent, LG Electronics soared 2.24 percent, SK Hynix advanced 0.83 percent, Naver climbed 1.17 percent, LG Chem rose 0.35 percent, Lotte Chemical dipped 0.19 percent, S-Oil gathered 1.44 percent, SK Innovation plunged 3.75 percent, POSCO perked 1.61 percent, SK Telecom was up 0.16 percent, KEPCO gained 0.40 percent, Hyundai Motor added 0.67 percent and Kia Motors accelerated 1.40 percent.

The lead from Wall Street remains inconsistent as the Dow and S&P opened firmly lower on Wednesday and stayed that way – but the NASDAQ hugged the unchanged line and finished slightly higher.

The Dow tumbled 323.73 points or 0.92 percent to finish at 34,792, while the NASDAQ rose 19.24 points or 0.13 percent to close at 14,780.53 and the S&P 500 sank 20.49 points or 0.46 percent to end at 4,402.66.

The weakness on Wall Street reflected renewed concerns about the pace of U.S. economic growth after payroll processor ADP said private sector employment increased less than expected in July.

On Friday, the Labor Department will release its more closely watched monthly jobs report, which includes both public and private sector jobs.

A steep drop by shares of General Motors (GM) also weighed on Wall Street, with the auto giant plunging by 8.9 percent to a five-month closing low after the company reported second quarter earnings that missed estimates.

Crude oil prices plummeted again on Wednesday, extending the sharp pullback seen over the two previous sessions following an unexpected increase in crude oil inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate crude sank $2.41 or 3.4 percent to $68.15 a barrel.