(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Tuesday halted the two-day slide in which it had tumbled more than 135 points or 4.5 percent. The KOSPI now rests just above the 3,090-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on hopes for improved coronavirus vaccine rollout and additional stimulus. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.
For the day, the index soared 78.73 points or 2.61 percent to finish at 3,092.66 after trading between 3,011.32 and 3,107.00. Volume was 1.3 billion shares worth 23.8 trillion won. There were 737 gainers and 124 decliners.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 1.38 percent, while KB Financial eased 0.11 percent, Hana Financial rose 0.26 percent, Samsung Electronics climbed 2.35 percent, LG Electronics rallied 3.02 percent, SK Hynix was up 0.38 percent, Samsung SDI accelerated 3.68 percent, LG Chem advanced 3.42 percent, Lotte Chemical advanced 1.21 percent, S-Oil jumped 1.80 percent, SK Innovation soared 6.93 percent, POSCO perked 1.88 percent, SK Telecom gained 0.41 percent, KEPCO increased 0.60 percent, Hyundai Motor surged 8.51 percent and Kia Motors skyrocketed 16.64 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks opened higher on Tuesday and remained in the green throughout the session, butting into last week's losses.
The Dow added 116.26 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 30,930.52, while the NASDAQ spiked 198.68 points or 1.53 percent to end at 13,197.18 and the S&P 500 gained 30.66 points or 0.81 percent to close at 3,798.91.
The markets benefited from continued optimism about additional stimulus as well as a faster rollout of coronavirus vaccines under incoming President Joe Biden, who is set to take office later today.
Traders kept an eye on remarks from Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen, who called for additional stimulus to address the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, arguing the government needs to act big.
In corporate news, a drop by shares of Goldman Sachs (GS) limited the upside for the Dow after the financial giant slumped by 2.3 percent despite reporting better than expected Q4 results. Bank of America (BAC) also sank after reporting better than expected Q4 earnings but missed on revenue.
Crude oil prices rose Tuesday, riding the dollar's weakness and expectations of more economic stimulus in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended up $0.62 or 1.2 percent at $52.98 a barrel.
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