(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 advanced more than 45 points or 1.8 percent. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 2,630-point plateau although it's expected to bounce higher again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.
The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks, chemicals and industrials.
For the day, the index slumped 11.81 points or 0.45 percent to finish at 2,629.35. Volume was 547.41 million shares worth 9.25 trillion won. There were 576 decliners and 303 gainers.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial retreated 1.26 percent, while KB Financial declined 1.42 percent, Hana Financial skidded 1.18 percent, Samsung Electronics tumbled 1.39 percent, Samsung SDI gained 0.68 percent, LG Electronics was down 0.48 percent, SK Hynix slid 0.52 percent, LG Chem dropped 0.80 percent, Lotte Chemical eased 0.17 percent, S-Oil sank 0.66 percent, SK Innovation rose 0.25 percent, POSCO shed 0.63 percent, KEPCO lost 0.52 percent, Hyundai Mobis dipped 0.22 percent, Hyundai Motor slumped 0.46 percent, Kia Motors stumbled 1.57 percent and SK Telecom and Naver were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened in the green on Monday and accelerated as the day progressed, ending near session highs.
The Dow climbed 189.55 points or 0.56 percent to finish at 34,066.33, while the NASDAQ rallied 202.78 points or 1.53 percent to end at 13,461.92 and the S&P 500 gained 40.07 points or 0.93 percent to close at 4,338.93.
The strength on Wall Street comes as traders look ahead to the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.
The Fed is widely expected to pause its recent interest rate increases but is also likely to reiterate its commitment to bringing inflation down to its 2 percent target.
The Fed's accompanying statement is likely to have a significant impact on the outlook for rates along with some closely watched inflation data due to be released in the coming days.
Oil prices fell sharply Monday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand following a downward revision in the crude oil price forecast by Goldman Sachs. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July tumbled $3.05 or 4.4 percent at $67.12 a barrel, a three-month low.
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