Additional Support Anticipated For KOSPI

The South Korea stock market on Wednesday snapped the two-day slide in which it had fallen more than 20 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just shy of the 2,610-point plateau and it may tick higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic because of an improving outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished barely higher on Wednesday following gains from the industrials, weakness from the financials and technology stocks and mixed performances from the oil and chemical companies.

For the day, the index picked up 0.62 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 2,608.24. Volume was 433.9 million shares worth 11 trillion won. There were 599 decliners and 272 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial dipped 0.15 percent, while Hana Financial shed 0.64 percent, Samsung Electronics was down 0.42 percent, Samsung SDI lost 0.57 percent, LG Electronics gained 0.32 percent, SK Hynix eased 0.25 percent, Naver slumped 2.15 percent, LG Chem increased 1.18 percent, Lotte Chemical tumbled 2.73 percent, S-Oil climbed 1.16 percent, SK Innovation sank 0.59 percent, POSCO rallied 2.36 percent, SK Telecom dropped 0.88 percent, Hyundai Mobis jumped 2.09 percent, Hyundai Motor rose 0.25 percent, Kia Motors perked 0.12 percent and KB Financial and KEPCO were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened firmly higher on Wednesday but faded as the day progressed, finishing with only slight gains.

The Dow climbed 109.31 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 35,061.21, while the NASDAQ rose 4.42 points or 0.03 percent to close at 14,358.02 and the S&P 500 perked 10.74 points or 0.24 percent to end at 4,565.72.

The strength on Wall Street extended the current upward trend, with the Dow closing higher for the eighth consecutive session. Encouraging inflation data helped trigger the recent advance, as traders grow increasingly optimistic the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its interest rate hikes.

Upbeat earnings news has added to the positive sentiment, with regional banks U.S. Bancorp (USB), Ally Financial (ALLY) and Citizens Financial (CFG) posting standout gains after reporting better than expected quarterly earnings.

Meanwhile, traders shrugged off a Commerce Department report showing a sharp pullback in housing starts last month.

Oil futures pared early gains and settled lower on Wednesday after data showed a smaller-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, while a stronger dollar weighed as well. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August fell $0.40 or 0.5 percent at $75.35 a barrel.