KOSPI Due For Profit Taking On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher four straight sessions, accelerating more than 120 points or 4.8 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,520-point plateau although the rally may stall on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat and directionless on conflicting leads over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets are expected to follow suit.

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

For the day, the index climbed 28.95 points or 1.16 percent to finish at 2,521.05 after trading between 2,481.25 and 2,526.77. Volume was 356.27 million shares worth 10.24 trillion won. There were 459 gainers and 407 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.41 percent, while Hana Financial perked 0.17 percent, Samsung Electronics soared 3.43 percent, Samsung SDI strengthened 1.22 percent, LG Electronics rallied 1.40 percent, SK Hynix eased 0.15 percent, Naver fell 0.48 percent, LG Chem rose 0.39 percent, Lotte Chemical slipped 0.33 percent, SK Innovation advanced 0.98 percent, POSCO Holdings added 0.38 percent, SK Telecom added 0.54 percent, Hyundai Mobis gained 0.80 percent, Hyundai Motor climbed 1.18 percent, Kia Motors accelerated 1.92 percent and KB Financial and KEPCO were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests little movement as the major averages opened slightly lower on Wednesday, bounced back and forth across the line all day before ending mixed and largely unchanged.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came amid uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates following the release of mixed U.S. jobs data.

While payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector job growth slowed more than expected in December, the Labor Department said weekly jobless claims unexpectedly fell to their lowest level in almost 11 months.

While the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting later in the day, they did not provide much insight into the outlook for interest rates other than to suggest officials plan to take a "careful approach" to future decisions.

Oil futures closed lower on Wednesday as a sharp increase in gasoline stockpiles and a stronger dollar weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended lower by $0.93 or 1.25 percent at $73.32 a barrel.