KOSPI May Test 5,100-Point Level

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Tuesday, one day after snapping the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 100 points or 2 percent. Now at a fresh record closing high, the KOSPI sits just above the 5,080-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside, boosted by gains from the oil, gold and technology sectors. The European and U.S. markets were mixed to higher and the overbought Asian bourses may see mild upside - although they may see profit taking later in the day.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and technology stocks.

For the day, the index surged 135.26 points or 2.73 percent to close at the daily high of 5,084.85 after trading as low as 4,890.72. Volume was 472 million shares worth 28 trillion won. There were 472 decliners and 410 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial spiked 4.49 percent, while KB Financial vaulted 5.54 percent, Hana Financial collected 3.75 percent, Samsung Electronics soared 4.87 percent, Samsung SDI perked 0.13 percent, LG Electronics skidded 1.17 percent, SK Hynix surged 8.70 percent, Naver accelerated 3.30 percent, LG Chem retreated 1.57 percent, Lotte Chemical rallied 2.60 percent, SK Innovation and Kia Motors both slumped 1.10 percent, POSCO Holdings declined 1.51 percent, SK Telecom skyrocketed 12.30 percent, KEPCO rose 0.17 percent, Hyundai Mobis sank 1.18 percent and Hyundai Motor dropped 0.81 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and stayed that way throughout the trading day.

The Dow tumbled 407.72 points or 0.83 percent to finish at 49,004.68, while the NASDAQ jumped 215.74 points or 0.91 percent to close at 23,817.10 and the S&P 500 added 30.82 points or 0.44 percent to end at 6,981.05.

The strength in the broader markets came as traders remain optimistic ahead of the release of earnings news from big-name tech companies like Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL) and Meta Platforms (META).

Traders were also cautious ahead of the monetary policy announcement from the Federal Reserve later today. While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates.

In U.S. economic news, the Conference Board reported a significant deterioration in consumer confidence in January - hitting its lowest level since May 2014,.

Crude oil prices soared on Tuesday as U.S. naval forces have started building up near Iran, while Lebanese and Yemeni militias have pledged support to Iran, leading to a heightening of tensions. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $1.61 or 2.66 percent at $62.24 per barrel.