Tech Shares May Provide KOSPI With More Upside

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Wednesday, one day after ending the five-day winning streak in which it had skyrocketed more than 1,225 points or 16.9 percent. Now at a fresh record closing high, the KOSPI sits just beneath the 7,850-point plateau and it may extend its gains again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on hopes for an end to the hostilities in the Middle East. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher and the Asian markets are also expected to track to the upside.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the technology stocks and automobile producers, while the financials and chemicals were weak.

For the day, the index rallied 200.86 points or 2.63 percent to finish at 7,844.01 after trading between 7,402.36 and 7,855.47. Volume was 733.4 million shares worth 49.7 trillion won. There were 599 decliners and 281 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial retreated 1.55 percent, while KB Financial skidded 1.04 percent, Hana Financial shed 0.65 percent, Samsung Electronics jumped 1.79 percent, Samsung SDI improved 0.79 percent, LG Electronics spiked 3.52 percent, SK Hynix surged 7.68 percent, Naver slumped 1.23 percent, LG Chem dipped 0.26 percent, Lotte Chemical tumbled 3.14 percent, SK Innovation advanced 0.93 percent, POSCO Holdings eased 0.10 percent, SK Telecom rallied 2.32 percent, KEPCO declined 1.21 percent, Hyundai Mobis skyrocketed 18.43 percent, Hyundai Motor soared 9.91 percent and Kia Motors accelerated 6.65 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed to higher as the major averages opened mixed but trended higher throughout the session, finally finishing mixed.

The Dow shed 67.36 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 49,693.20, while the NASDAQ rallied 314.14 points of 1.20 percent to end at a record 26,402.34 and the S&P 500 gained 43.29 points or 0.58 percent to close at 7,444.25, also a record.

The mixed performance on Wall Street followed the release of a Labor Department report showing producer prices in the U.S. shot up much more than expected in April, marking the largest jump since March 2022.

Following the data, interest rate-sensitive utilities and housing stocks showed significant moves to the downside on the day.

The rally by the NASDAQ reflected substantial strength among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.6 percent surge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Crude oil prices pulled back on Wednesday as the upcoming negotiations between the presidents of the U.S. and China have increased expectations of an end to the U.S.-Iran standoff despite OPEC and IEA oil forecast reports warning of a supply-demand mismatch. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was down $1.04 or 1.02 percent at $101.14 per barrel.