Tech Shares May Boost South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Tuesday, one day after ending the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 230 points or 3.1 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 6,850-point plateau and it may tick higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on an improved outlook for interest rates. 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 as bargain hunting among the technology stocks and chip makers was capped by weakness among the automobile producers.

For the day, the index added 49.90 points or 0.73 percent to finish at 6,856.83 after falling as low as 6,448.86.

The lead from Wall Street is fairly upbeat as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday but all managed to be in the green by the day's end.

The Dow rose 10.02 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 52,508.66, while the NASDAQ jumped 233.83 points or 0.90 percent to close at 26,107.01 and the S&P 500 collected 28.54 points or 0.38 percent to end at 7,543.88.

The strength on Wall Street followed the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing consumer prices in the U.S. fell more than expected in June.

The weaker-than-expected inflation data helped ease recent concerns about the outlook for inflation and the possibility of higher interest rates.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East and a rebound in oil prices limited the upside.

Crude oil prices moved higher again on Tuesday amid concerns about the escalating conflict between the U.S. and Iran. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was up $0.94 or 1.2 percent to $79.08 a barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will provide June data for imports, exports, trade balance and unemployment later this morning. In May, imports were up 30.1 percent on year and exports rose an annual 70.9 percent for a trade surplus of $36.15 billion, while the jobless rate was 2.8 percent.