South Korea Market May Extend Gains

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Wednesday's holiday for Independence Day, the South Korea stock market had ended the two-day slide in which it had fallen more than 20 points or 1 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,090-point plateau, and the market may add to its winnings on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on optimism following President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress. The European and U.S. markets were up, and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financials, technology stocks and industrials.

For the day, the index picked up 6.12 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 2,091.64 after trading between 2,084.36 and 2,094.41. Volume was 384.43 million shares worth 4.93 trillion won. There were 416 decliners and 382 gainers.

Among the actives, Samsung Electronics climbed 1 percent, while LG Electronics perked 1.36 percent, SK hynix spiked 1.52 percent, Shinhan Financial soared 1.97 percent, Woori Bank collected 1.14 percent, S-Oil advanced 1.65 percent, POSCO jumped 1.25 percent, Hyundai Heavy Industries surged 5.11 percent, Hyundai Motor added 0.67 percent and Kia Motors was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as stocks moved sharply higher on Wednesday, prompting the major averages to fresh record closing highs.

The Dow soared 303.31 points or 1.5 percent to 21,115.55, while the NASDAQ jumped 78.59 points or 1.4 percent to 5,904.03 and the S&P surged 32.32 points or 1.4 percent to 2,395.96.

Trump's address fueled the rally on Wall Street. While Trump's speech lacked details on his plans for tax reform and replacing Obamacare, investors seem relieved that he struck a softer, more optimistic tone.

Stocks saw continued strength following the release of the Fed's Beige Book, which said the economy expanded at a modest to moderate pace from early January through mid-February.

Also, the Institute for Supply Management said that growth in manufacturing activity surged more than anticipated in February. The Commerce Department noted a bigger than expected increase in personal income in January, plus a drop in construction spending.

Crude oil futures eased Wednesday, giving up early gains as the dollar strengthened as U.S. oil inventories rose. April WTI oil fell 18 cents or 0.3 percent to $53.83/bbl.

Closer to home, South Korea will see January figures for industrial production and retail sales, as well as the February results for the manufacturing PMI from Nikkei.

Output was down 0.5 percent on month and up 4.3 percent on year in December, while retail sales were down 1.2 percent on month and up 1.6 percent on year. The manufacturing PMI had a score of 49.0 in January.