South Korea Shares May See Additional Support

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, advancing more than 150 points or 2.8 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 5,640-point plateau and it may add to its winnings again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside ahead of the U.S. monetary policy announcement later today. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial, technology, chemical and automobile companies.

For the day, the index jumped 90.63 points or 1.63 percent to finish at 5,640.48 after trading between 5,632.86 and 5,717.13. Volume was 1.1 billion shares worth 21.8 trillion won. There were 629 gainers and 257 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial climbed 1.33 percent, while KB Financial advanced 0.94 percent, Hana Financial collected 1.38 percent, Samsung Electronics rallied 2.76 percent, Samsung SDI expanded 1.57 percent, LG Electronics rose 0.26 percent, SK Hynix fell 0.41 percent, Naver soared 2.75 percent, LG Chem soared 5.31 percent, Lotte Chemical vaulted 1.59 percent, SK Innovation gained 1.46 percent, POSCO Holdings improved 2.70 percent, SK Telecom surged 4.46 percent, KEPCO added 2.77 percent, Hyundai Mobis jumped 2.85 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 3.16 percent and Kia Motors spiked 3.27 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and remained in the green throughout the day, although off session highs.

The Dow added 46.85 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 46,993.26, while the NASDAQ climbed 105.35 points or 0.47 percent to end at 22,479.53 and the S&P 500 added 16.71 points or 0.25 percent to close at 6,716.09.

The early strength on Wall Street came as traders attempted to shrug off the recent volatility shown by the price of crude oil, which has been a key driver of trading in recent sessions.

Crude oil prices surged Tuesday as Iran stepped up its attack on energy infrastructure in the Middle East in its war against the U.S. and Israel. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was up $2.57 or 2.75 percent at $96.07 per barrel.

The Israeli military also said it had begun a "wide-scale wave of strikes" across Iran's capital and was also stepping up strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

Traders were also reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement. While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will pay close attention to central bank officials' latest projections.