KOSPI Overdue For Profit Taking On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in five straight sessions, advancing almost 1,150 points or 13 .7percent along the way. Now at a fresh record closing high, the KOSPI sits just above the 8,860-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the technology stocks, while the financials and industrials ended under pressure.

For the day, the index jumped 137.64 points or 1.58 percent to finish at 8,864.24. Volume was 565.1 million shares, worth 34.8 trillion won. There were 525 decliners and 347 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial cratered 3.37 percent, while KB Financial plunged 4.65 percent, Hana Financial stumbled 3.94 percent, Samsung Electronics climbed 1.02 percent, Samsung SDI perked 0.18 percent, LG Electronics tanked 2.93 percent, SK Hynix soared 5.84 percent, Naver added 0.62 percent, LG Chem fell 0.43 percent, Lotte Chemical vaulted 1.36 percent, SK Innovation crashed 3.11 percent, POSCO Holdings retreated 1.41 percent, SK Telecom skidded 1.10 percent, KEPCO jumped 1.76 percent, Hyundai Mobis dropped 4.39 percent, Hyundai Motor tumbled 3.44 percent and Kia Motors sank 2.29 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened slightly higher on Wednesday and hugged the line before tumbling after the Federal Reserve's rate decision.

The Dow dropped 507.12 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 51,492.55, while the NASDAQ slumped 354.69 points or 1.34 percent to close at 26,021.66 and the S&P 500 sank 91.25 points or 1.21 percent to end at 7,420.10.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came after the Fed left interest rates unchanged as widely expected, but projections suggest that rates could be higher by end of the year.

The Fed noted that inflation remains elevated relative to the Fed's 2 percent goal, in part reflecting supply shocks that have driven price increases in certain sectors, including energy.

In economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing retail sales in the U.S. increased by much more than expected in the month of May.

Crude oil prices ticked higher on Wednesday as energy experts remain skeptical of an early restoration of normal oil trade in the gulf region despite the upcoming U.S.-Iran deal. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was up $0.45 or 0.59 percent at $76.50 per barrel.