KOSPI May Crack Resistance At 2,500 Points

The South Korea stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, advancing almost 65 points or 2.7 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,470-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets finished higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

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

For the day, the index jumped 39.14 points or 1.61 percent to finish at the daily high of 2,472.53 after trading as low as 2,421.42. Volume was 564.2 million shares worth 11.3 trillion won. There were 626 gainers and 234 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial jumped 2.01 percent, while KB Financial collected 1.74 percent, Hana Financial strengthened 1.83 percent, Samsung Electronics perked 2.64 percent, Samsung SDI gained 1.53 percent, LG Electronics surged 4.05 percent, SK Hynix climbed 1.55 percent, Naver gathered 2.47 percent, LG Chem skyrocketed 3.50 percent, Lotte Chemical sank 0.81 percent, S-Oil added 0.46 percent, SK Innovation soared 2.29 percent, POSCO rallied 2.04 percent, SK Telecom rose 0.40 percent, KEPCO spiked 2.22 percent, Hyundai Mobis improved 2.16 percent, Kia Motors accelerated 1.93 percent and Hyundai Motor was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up sharply positive as the major averages opened fairly flat and stayed that way before exploding higher late in the day.

The Dow surged 737.24 points or 2.18 percent to finish at 34,589.77, while the NASDAQ soared 484.22 points or 4.41 percent to end at 11,468.00 and the S&P 500 rallied 122.48 points or 3.09 percent to close at 4,080.11.

The rally on Wall Street came as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks provided further evidence the central bank plans to slow its aggressive pace of interest rate hikes as soon as next month.

The Fed’s next monetary policy meeting is scheduled for December 13-14, with CME Group’s FedWatch Tool currently indicating a 77.0 percent chance of a 50-basis point rate hike and a 23.0 percent chance of a fifth straight 75-basis point rate hike.

In economic news, payroll processor ADP noted slower than expected private sector job growth in November, while the Commerce Department reported an unexpected upward revision to GDP growth in the third quarter.

Crude oil futures surged on Wednesday after data showed a steep drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. Expectations of increased demand from China and a weaker dollar also contributed to the jump in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $2.35 or 3 percent at $80.55 a barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will on Thursday release final Q3 figures for gross domestic product later this morning. In the previous three months, GDP was up 0.7 percent on quarter and 2.9 percent on year.

South Korea also will see November numbers for imports, exports and trade balance. Imports are expected to rise 0.2 percent on year, slowing from 9.9 percent in October. Exports are called lower by an annual 11.0 percent after shrinking 5.7 percent in the previous month. The trade deficit is pegged at $4.42 billion following the $6.7 billion shortfall a month earlier.