Win Streak May Continue For South Korea Stock Market

The South Korea stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, advancing more than 30 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The KOSPI market now rests just above the 2,500-point plateau and it may see additional support on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing treasury yields and ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting later this week. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

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

For the day, the index advanced 22.09 points or 0.89 percent to finish at 2,500.65 after trading between 2,483.81 and 2,516.92. Volume was 421.5 million shares worth 8.85 trillion won. There were 523 gainers and 361 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 1.76 percent, while KB Financial rallied 3.35 percent, Hana Financial soared 3.46 percent, Samsung Electronics strengthened 1.36 percent, Samsung SDI was up 5.13 percent, LG Electronics advanced 0.86 percent, SK Hynix sank 0.74 percent, Naver tumbled 2.08 percent, LG Chem added 2.04 percent, Lotte Chemical eased 0.07 percent, S-Oil gained 1.47 percent, SK Innovation spiked 3.89 percent, POSCO climbed 2.55 percent, KEPCO jumped 3.75 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 4.43 percent, Kia Motors surged 5.83 percent and SK Telecom was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened flat on Monday and stayed that way for much of the session before a late surge sent them solidly into the green.

The Dow rallied 224.02 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 38,333.45, while the NASDAQ jumped 172.68 points or 1.12 percent to close at 15,628.04 and the S&P 500 gained 36.96 points or 0.76 percent to end at 4,927.93.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street reflected a notable pullback by treasury yields, which gave ground after moving higher last Friday. Yields fell to new lows and stocks rallied late in the session as the Treasury Department reduced its estimates for first quarter borrowing.

Earlier in the day, traders seemed reluctant to make significant ahead of several key events this week, including the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will be looking for clues about the likelihood of rate cuts at upcoming meetings. Recent economic data has led many economists to believe the Fed is unlikely to cut rates in March, as traders had previously hoped.

Crude oil prices fell on Monday as concerns about the outlook for demand outweighed the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, while a firmer dollar also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March slipped $1.23 or 1.6 percent to settle at $76.88 a barrel.

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