Rebound Anticipated For South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 430 points or 7.8 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 5,400-point plateau although it's expected to bounce higher again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat as tensions in the Middle East take a slight breather. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are expected to follow the latter lead. The KOSPI finished with huge losses on Monday with damage in every sector, although the financials, industrials and technology stocks were hit especially hard. For the day, the index plummeted 375.45 points or 6.49 percent to finish at 5,405.75 after trading between 5,397.94 and 5,580.15. Volume was 1.1 billion shares worth 27 trillion won. There were 861 decliners and 52 gainers. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial cratered 8.17 percent, while KB Financial tanked 6.38 percent, Hana Financial retreated 6.36 percent, Samsung Electronics plunged 6.57 percent, Samsung SDI surrendered 5.99 percent, LG Electronics tumbled 7.12 percent, SK Hynix plummeted 7.35 percent, Naver contracted 5.64 percent, LG Chem dropped 6.45 percent, Lotte Chemical shed 3.44 percent, SK Innovation crashed 7.29 percent, POSCO Holdings sank 5.39 percent, SK Telecom skidded 5.84 percent, KEPCO slumped 7.22 percent, Hyundai Mobis lost 4.87 percent, Hyundai Motor stumbled 6.19 percent and Kia Motors fell 4.04 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Monday and remained firmly in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow surged 631.00 points or 1.38 percent to finish at 46,208.47, while the NASDAQ spiked 299.15 points or 1.38 percent to close at 21,946.76 and the S&P 500 rallied 74.52 points or 1.15 percent to end at 6,581.00.

The early rally on Wall Street came reaction to President Donald Trump backing down from his threats to "obliterate" Iran's power plants unless they fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

However, buying interest waned somewhat as the day progressed, as Iran's state-run media said the country's foreign ministry has denied negotiating with the U.S.

Crude oil prices plummeted on Monday after Trump's announcement that he ordered the U.S. forces to pause any planned attacks against Iran's power plants and energy infrastructure. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was down $10.21 or 10.39 percent at $88.02 per barrel.