South Korea Bourse May Extend Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The winning streak has reached three sessions now for the South Korea stock market, which has gathered more than 25 points or 1.3 percent in that span. The KOSPI now rests just shy of the 2,000-point plateau, and the market is looking at continued strength on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive thanks to a sharp rebound in the price of crude oil - while window dressing ahead of the year's end also may play a role. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the technology stocks and the industrial issues.

For the day, the index collected 6.66 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 1,999.22 after trading between 1,989.30 and 2,007.42.

Among the actives, Samsung Electronics gained 0.23 percent, while Hyundai Motor slipped 0.98 percent, LG Chem climbed 1.95 percent, SK Hynix advanced 1.55 percent, POSCO surged 3.47 percent and Hyundai Heavy Industries jumped 2.44 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as stocks moved higher on Wednesday, fueled by a gain in the energy sector. The gains extended a recent upward move, with the major averages closing higher for the third straight day.

The Dow jumped 185.34 points or 1.1 percent to 17,602.61, while the NASDAQ advanced 44.82 points or 0.9 percent to 5,045.93 and the S&P 500 surged 25.32 points or 1.2 percent to 2,064.29.

The strength followed a substantial increase by the price of crude oil, which climbed further off its recent lows after an unexpected sharp decline in inventories.

Traders were also reacting to a slew of U.S. economic data, including a report from the Commerce Department showing that new home sales increased for the second consecutive month in November. A separate report from the University of Michigan said that consumer sentiment improved by more than estimated in December.

Also, the Commerce Department noted that personal income and spending rose at the same rate in November, while a separate report showed that durable goods orders were virtually unchanged in November after surging 2.9 percent in October.