KOSPI Overdue For Consolidation On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished higher in five straight sessions, surging more than 1,225 points or 16.9 percent in that span. Now at a fresh record closing high, the KOSPI sits just above the 7,820-point plateau although investors may cash in on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed with a touch of upside as ambiguity continues to reign in the Middle East. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference. The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Monday following gains from the technology stocks and automobile producers, while the financials were soft and the chemicals were mixed. For the day, the index skyrocketed 324.24 points or 4.32 percent to finish at 7,822.24 after trading between 7,713.49 and 7,899.32. Volume was 723.4 million shares worth 50.2 trillion won. There were 735 gainers and 147 decliners. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial sank 0.82 percent, while KB Financial tumbled 1.79 percent, Hana Financial perked 0.08 percent, Samsung Electronics rallied 6.33 percent, Samsung SDI added 1.51 percent, LG Electronics gained 1.69 percent, SK Hynix surged 11.51 percent, Naver slumped 1.63 percent, LG Chem dropped 1.40 percent, Lotte Chemical vaulted 6.61 percent, SK Innovation stumbled 1.48 percent, POSCO Holdings tanked 2.48 percent, SK Telecom jumped 5.03 percent, KEPCO surrendered 1.93 percent, Hyundai Mobis soared 8.64 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 5.38 percent and Kia Motors jumped 6.20 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened mixed on Monday and largely hugged the line throughout the session, finishing with slight gains.

The Dow climbed 95.31 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 49,704.47, while the NASDAQ added 27.05 points or 0.10 percent to close at a record 26,274.13 and the S&P 500 rose 13.19 points or 0.19 percent to end at 7,412.84, also a record.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders expressed some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following recent strength.

Crude oil futures surged after President Donald Trump rejected Iran's response to a U.S. proposal to end the months-long war, calling it "totally unacceptable" in a post on Truth Social. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was up $3.33 or 3.49 percent at $98.75 per barrel.

Trump later told reporters the U.S.-Iran ceasefire is on "life support" amid the ongoing dispute, describing the state of the truce "unbelievably weak."

However, U.S. markets have recently been able to shrug off concerns about the impact of the Middle East conflict amid upbeat earnings news.