The South Korean stock market rebounded on Monday, recovering from a brief setback that interrupted a three-day rally during which it had gained nearly 35 points, or 1.2%. The KOSPI index now stands at just over the 2,860 mark, and positive momentum is expected to continue into Tuesday. Market optimism is largely driven by encouraging prospects regarding interest rates. While European markets faced declines, U.S. markets saw gains, positioning Asian markets to follow the upward trend set by the latter.
On Monday, the KOSPI saw modest gains. Technology sector advances were counteracted by losses in the industrial and financial sectors. Specifically, the index increased by 3.92 points, or 0.14%, to close at 2,860.92, fluctuating between 2,848.93 and 2,872.90 throughout the day. Notable movements among active stocks included a 1.15% drop for Shinhan Financial, a 1.49% retreat for KB Financial, and a 0.64% decrease for Hana Financial. On the tech front, Samsung Electronics surged by 2.73%, while Samsung SDI fell by 0.66%. LG Electronics gained 0.46%, but SK Hynix declined by 1.29%. Meanwhile, Naver advanced by 0.86%, LG Chem plunged by 3.39%, and Lotte Chemical saw a slight rise of 0.28%. Other significant moves included a 0.09% dip for SK Innovation, a 1.53% drop for POSCO, a 0.71% decline for KEPCO, and over 1% drops for Hyundai Mobis, Kia Motors, and Hyundai Motor.
Wall Street provided a positive lead, as major indices opened higher on Monday and maintained their gains to close at record highs, despite some volatile trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 210.82 points, or 0.53%, to close at 40,211.72. The NASDAQ increased by 74.12 points, or 0.40%, to finish at 18,472.57, and the S&P 500 climbed 15.87 points, or 0.28%, to end at 5,631.22. The uptick on Wall Street was largely attributed to remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who indicated that the Fed would not wait for inflation to reach 2% before cutting interest rates.
Economically, a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York indicated that regional manufacturing activity contracted at a slightly accelerated rate in July.
In the commodities market, crude oil futures for August settled lower on Monday. West Texas Intermediate crude oil finished down by $0.30, closing at $81.91 per barrel. This decline was influenced by political instability following an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and underwhelming economic data from China.
