(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished higher in back-to-back sessions, gathering almost 10 points or 0.3 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,865-point plateau and it's expected to open in the green once again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on solid earnings news and interest rate optimism. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Tuesday on gains from the automobile producers, losses from the chemicals and mixed performances from the financial shares.
For the day, the index added 5.17 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 2,866.09. Volume was 667.5 million shares worth 12.4 trillion won. There were 498 decliners and 356 gainers.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial jumped 1.54 percent, while KB Financial tumbled 1.87 percent, Hana Financial collected 0.16 percent, Samsung Electronics climbed 1.15 percent, Samsung SDI plunged 4.64 percent, LG Electronics rallied 1.91 percent, SK Hynix strengthened 1.30 percent, Naver slumped 2.67 percent, LG Chem plummeted 4.87 percent, Lotte Chemical dropped 0.83 percent, S-Oil shed 0.44 percent, SK Innovation surged 4.91 percent, POSCO tanked 3.37 percent, SK Telecom advanced 0.96 percent, KEPCO eased 0.15 percent, Hyundai Mobis lost 0.43 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 2.23 percent and Kia Motors soared 2.42 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher and generally stayed that way, although the NASDAQ slipped into the red for a time.
The Dow surged 742.76 points or 1.85 percent to finish at a record 40,945.48, while the NASDAQ added 36.77 points or 0.20 percent to close at 18,509.34 and the S&P 500 rose 35.98 points or 0.64 percent to end at 5,667.20 - also a record.
The strength on Wall Street reflected positive earnings news from the likes of UnitedHealth (UNH), Bank of America (BAC) and Morgan Stanley (MS).
Traders also reacted positively to the latest U.S. economic news, including a Commerce Department report showing U.S. retail sales came in unchanged in June. The Labor Department also released a report showing import prices in the U.S. were unexpectedly flat last month while export prices slid 0.5 percent.
Gold stocks also saw significant strength amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.4 percent. The index reached a more than two-year closing high.
Oil prices fell on Tuesday, extending losses to a third straight session amid concerns about the outlook for demand and a slightly stronger dollar. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August sank $1.15 or 1.4 percent at $80.76 a barrel.
