South Korea Shares May Head South Again On Thursday

The South Korea stock market moved higher again on Wednesday, one day after snapping the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 50 points or 2.3 percent. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,485-point plateau although it’s expected to turn lower again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financials, technology stocks, oil companies and automobile producers.

For the day, the index climbed 31.93 points or 1.30 percent to finish at 2,483.64. Volume was 406.98 million shares worth 7.9 trillion won. There were 591 gainers and 282 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial jumped 1.84 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.36 percent, Hana Financial strengthened 1.56 percent, Samsung Electronics gained 1.94 percent, Samsung SDI increased 2.67 percent, LG Electronics surged 5.49 percent, SK Hynix soared 4.52 percent, Naver skyrocketed 5.01 percent, LG Chem retreated 1.32 percent, Lotte Chemical skidded 1.03 percent, S-Oil spiked 1.55 percent, SK Innovation rallied 1.54 percent, POSCO dipped 0.17 percent, KEPCO improved 1.31 percent, Hyundai Mobis added 0.48 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 1.29 percent, Kia Motors rose 0.28 percent and SK Telecom was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and remained in the red throughout the session.

The Dow tumbled 207.68 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 33,949.01, while the NASDAQ plunged 203.27 points or 1.68 percent to close at 11,910.52 and the S&P 500 sank 46.14 points or 1.11 percent to end at 4,117.86.

The pullback on Wall Street came as some traders looked to cash in Tuesday’s gains, which came amid a positive reaction to comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Powell acknowledged recent indications of easing inflation but noted that the disinflationary process has a long way to go and cautioned further interest rate hikes could be needed.

The positive sentiment generated in reaction to Powell’s comments was partly offset by remarks by New York Fed President John Williams, who said interest rates may need to be kept at an elevated level for a few years to bring down inflation.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Wednesday, extending gains to a third straight session amid hopes of higher demand from China. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $1.33 or 1.7 percent at $78.47 a barrel.