South Korea Market May Run Out Of Steam

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has ticked higher in two straight sessions, collecting more than 15 points or 0.7 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,095-point plateau, although the market is expected to turn lower on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak, thanks to concerns over the outlook for interest rates and a mild decline in the price of crude oil. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

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

For the day, the index picked up 12.69 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 2,094.05 after trading between 2,079.16 and 2,096.79. Volume was 273 million shares worth 3.89 trillion won. There were 544 gainers and 256 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.32 percent, while Woori Bank perked 2.65 percent, Samsung Electronics added 0.30 percent, Samsung C&T jumped 1.67 percent, SK hynix dropped 1.11 percent, LG Electronics surged 4.98 percent, Hyundai Motor shed 0.69 percent, LG Chem gained 0.54 percent, Hyundai Heavy Industries spiked 3.01 percent and POSCO eased 0.17 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild downside as stocks were lackluster on Tuesday before ending lower, extending the losses in the previous session.

The Dow eased 29.58 points or 0.1 percent to 20,924.76, while the NASDAQ dipped 15.25 points or 0.3 percent to 5,833.93 and the S&P 500 fell 6.92 points or 0.3 percent to 2,368.39.

Concerns about the outlook for interest rates weighed on the markets amid expectations for an increase in rates at next week's Federal Reserve meeting. CME Group's FedWatch tool is indicating an 84.1 percent probability of a quarter-point rate hike by the central bank.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit widened in line with estimates in January.

Crude oil futures were flat Tuesday, even after OPEC Minister Mohamed Barkindo said January output cut compliance numbers are "very, very encouraging."

WTI light sweet crude oil for April was down 6 cents at $53.14 a barrel, holding in the middle of an exceptionally prolonged trading range between $50 and $55.