KOSPI May Spin Its Wheels On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has tracked higher in three straight sessions, gathering more than 260 points or 4.8 percent in that span. The KOSPI now sits just above the 5,450-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement as the world waits for developments in the Middle East. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Tuesday as gains from the technology and chemical stocks were capped by weakness from the financial sector.

For the day, the index climbed 44.45 points or 0.82 percent to finish at 5,494.78. Volume was 979.32 million shares worth 23.11 trillion won. There were 577 decliners and 286 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial retreated 1.61 percent, while KB Financial sank 0.81 percent, Hana Financial skidded 1.07 percent, Samsung Electronics jumped 1.76 percent, Samsung SDI added 0.66 percent, LG Electronics tumbled 2.10 percent, SK Hynix spiked 3.39 percent, Naver shed 0.46 percent, LG Chem rallied 2.05 percent, Lotte Chemical surged 5.26 percent, SK Innovation slumped 1.14 percent, POSCO Holdings dropped 1.00 percent, SK Telecom vaulted 1.49 percent, KEPCO contracted 0.89 percent, Hyundai Mobis rose 0.39 percent, Hyundai Motor advanced 0.85 percent and Kia Motors lost 0.53 percent.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity s the major averages spent most of Tuesday well under water before a late push saw them end mixed and little changed.

The Dow shed 85.42 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 46,584.46, while the NASDAQ rose 21.51 points or 0.10 percent to close at 22,017.85 and the S&P 500 perked 5.02 points or 0.08 percent to end at 6,616.85.

Stocks showed a notable move to the upside late in the trading day after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on President Donald Trump to extend his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by two weeks to "allow diplomacy to run its course."

Trump had earlier threatened to attack Iran's power plants and bridges if Tehran fails to reach a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 pm ET.

Crude oil prices have inched higher on Tuesday as Iran remains unresponsive to U.S. threats to open up the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up $0.65 or 0.58 percent at $113.06 per barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will release February figures for its current account later this morning; in January, the current account surplus was $13.26 billion.