KOSPI Has Firm Lead For Monday's Trade

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Friday, one day after snapping the six-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 320 points or 8.6 percent. Now at a fresh record closing high, the KOSPI sits just above the 3,940-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the technology stocks and chemical companies, while the financials and automobile producers were mixed.

For the day, the index rallied 96.03 points or 2.50 percent to finish at 3,941.59 after trading between 3,886.64 and 3,951.07. Volume was 419 million shares worth 17.6 trillion won. There were 474 gainers and 407 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial was up 0.14 percent, while KB Financial dropped 0.87 percent, Hana Financial collected 0.34 percent, Samsung Electronics jumped 2.38 percent, Samsung SDI skyrocketed 10.44 percent, LG Electronics stumbled 2.44 percent, SK Hynix surged 6.58 percent, Naver vaulted 1.86 percent, LG Chem spiked 2.95 percent, Lotte Chemical rallied 2.41 percent, SK Innovation soared 8.27 percent, POSCO Holdings accelerated 5.68 percent, SK Telecom sank 0.74 percent, KEPCO expanded 2.73 percent, Hyundai Mobis rose 0.33 percent, Hyundai Motor perked 0.20 percent and Kia Motors dipped 0.09 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is strong as the major averages opened solidly higher on Friday and remained well in the green throughout the trading day and all hit fresh record closing highs.

The Dow jumped 472.52 points or 1.01 percent to finish at 47,207.12, while the NASDAQ rallied 263.07 points or 1.15 percent to end at 23,204.87 and the S&P 500 added 53.25 points or 0.79 percent to close at 6,791.69.

The rally on Wall Street followed the release of a closely watched report on consumer price inflation that increased confidence that the Federal Reserve will continue cutting interest rates in the coming months.

While most U.S. economic data has been postponed indefinitely due to the ongoing government shutdown, the Labor Department released a report showing consumer prices increased less than expected in September.

Buying interest was also generated in reaction to upbeat earnings news from big-name companies like Ford (F), Procter & Gamble (PG) and Intel (INTC).

Crude oil prices dipped Friday on profit taking following large gains a day earlier. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery slipped $0.17 or 0.3 percent to $61.62 per barrel; for the week, crude surged 7.8 percent.