South Korea's stock market has experienced fluctuations leading up to the holiday for Buddha's birthday on Wednesday. Following a two-day winning streak that saw an impressive rise of nearly 70 points or 2.6 percent, the KOSPI now rests just above the 2,730-point mark. Indicators suggest that the market will open positively again on Thursday.
Globally, there is an optimistic outlook for Asian markets, buoyed by a positive sentiment regarding interest rates. Both European and U.S. markets have shown gains, and Asian markets are expected to follow suit.
On Tuesday, the KOSPI ended slightly higher, driven by gains in the chemical sector. This was offset by weakness in the energy and financial sectors, while technology stocks showed mixed performance. The index closed at 2,730.34, an increase of 3.13 points or 0.11 percent, after fluctuating between 2,722.74 and 2,735.82. Trading volume reached 436.6 million shares, with a value of 9.3 trillion won. In terms of specific stocks, 526 advanced while 342 declined.
Active stocks included Shinhan Financial, which dropped 0.52 percent, and KB Financial, which saw a significant fall of 2.45 percent. Hana Financial plummeted 3.46 percent, Samsung Electronics decreased slightly by 0.13 percent, while Samsung SDI improved by 1.27 percent. LG Electronics gained 0.72 percent, SK Hynix advanced 0.82 percent, and Naver edged up by 0.05 percent. On the other hand, LG Chem soared by 2.94 percent, and Lotte Chemical skyrocketed by 5.19 percent. S-Oil fell by 0.29 percent, SK Innovation slid by 0.36 percent, POSCO added 0.63 percent, SK Telecom rose by 0.38 percent, KEPCO rallied by 1.60 percent, Hyundai Mobis slumped by 1.10 percent, Hyundai Motor lifted by 0.61 percent, and Kia Motors shed 0.35 percent.
The positive sentiment from Wall Street is robust, with major averages opening higher and maintaining gains throughout the day, closing near their daily highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 349.89 points, or 0.88 percent, to finish at 39,908.00. The NASDAQ surged by 231.21 points or 1.40 percent to close at 16,742.29, while the S&P 500 leapt by 61.47 points or 1.17 percent to end at 5,308.15.
Wall Street's rally came on the heels of a Labor Department report indicating that U.S. consumer prices rose slightly less than expected in April. This, coupled with the previous day's hotter-than-expected producer price inflation data, has renewed optimism regarding interest rate trends.
In additional economic news, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that retail sales remained flat in April, contrary to expectations of a 0.4 percent increase.
Crude oil prices saw an uptick on Wednesday, supported by softer inflation data and a report showing a larger-than-anticipated decrease in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June closed at $78.63 a barrel, up by $0.61 or 0.78 percent.
