Tech Shares May Offer A Lift To KOSPI

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, surging almost 230 points or 3.5 percent on its way to a fresh record closing high. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 6,420-point plateau and it has another firm lead for Thursday's trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on hopes for an end to the conflict in the Middle East. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourse were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the chemical companies, weakness from the financials and a mixed picture from the technology stocks. For the day, the index added 29.46 points or 0.46 percent to finish at a fresh record high of 6,417.93 after trading between 6,318.51 and 6,423.29. Volume was 892.4 million shares worth 30.7 trillion won. There were 464 decliners and 396 gainers. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial skidded 1.20 percent, while KB Financial tumbled 1.87 percent, Hana Financial tanked 2.85 percent, Samsung Electronics shed 0.68 percent, Samsung SDI rallied 2.17 percent, LG Electronics soared 4.90 percent, SK Hynix eased 0.08 percent, LG Chem added 0.64 percent, Lotte Chemical expanded 1.22 percent, SK Innovation rose 0.37 percent, POSCO Holdings sank 0.71 percent, SK Telecom dipped 0.20 percent, KEPCO improved 0.76 percent, Hyundai Mobis spiked 2.13 percent, Hyundai Motor dropped 0.92 percent and Kia Motors and Naver were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and remained comfortably in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow jumped 340.65 points or 0.69 percent to finish at 49,490.03, while the NASDAQ rallied 397.60 points or 1.64 percent to end at a record 23,001.78 and the S&P 500 climbed 73.89 points or 1.05 percent to close at 7,137.90, also a record.

The rebound on Wall Street came in reaction to news that President Donald Trump has extended the U.S. ceasefire with Iran, although it will continue to blockade all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports.

Iran dismissed Trump's ceasefire extension as meaningless and said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the U.S. blockade is lifted.

Crude oil prices soared Wednesday thanks to supply disruption concerns due to the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was up $3.54 or 3.95 percent at $93.21 per barrel.

Traders also continue to express optimism about the strength of corporate results, with earnings season off to a solid start.

Closer to home, South Korea will release preliminary Q1 figures for gross domestic product later this morning; GDP is expected to rise 0.9 percent on quarter and 2.7 percent on year after slipping 0.2 percent on quarter and expanding 1.6 percent on year in the three months prior.