Overbought KOSPI Has Another Green Light For Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in seven straight sessions, accelerating more than 400 points or 9.1 percent in that span. Now at a fresh record closing high, the KOSPI sits just above the 4,620-point plateau and it's tipped to at least open to the upside. The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with oil prices being the main catalyst to the upside. The European and U.S. markets were slightly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion. The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the plastics companies and mixed performances from the financial, technology and automobile sectors. For the day, the index added 38.47 points or 0.84 percent to finish at 4,624.79 after trading between 4,567.55 and 4,652.54. Volume was 382.4 million shares worth 22.8 trillion won. There were 530 gainers and 348 decliners. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial collected 0.51 percent, while KB Financial sank 0.87 percent, Hana Financial climbed 1.18 percent, Samsung Electronics eased 0.14 percent, Samsung SDI soared 3.93 percent, LG Electronics slumped 1.23 percent, SK Hynix added 0.67 percent, Naver gained 0.59 percent, LG Chem surged 4.94 percent, Lotte Chemical rallied 2.84 percent, SK Innovation accelerated 2.81 percent, POSCO Holdings jumped 1.81 percent, KEPCO vaulted 3.24 percent, Hyundai Mobis tumbled 1.38 percent, Hyundai Motor added 0.27 percent, Kia Motors tanked 2.93 percent and SK Telecom was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened lower on Monday but managed to break into the green shortly thereafter.

The Dow added 86.13 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 49,590.20, while the NASDAQ gained 62.56 points or 0.26 percent to close at 23,733.90 and the S&P 500 rose 10.99 points or 0.16 percent to end at 6,977.27.

The initial pullback on Wall Street reflected concerns about the Federal Reserve's independence after Fed Chair Jerome Powell revealed that the U.S. central bank has been served subpoenas by the Department of Justice that threaten criminal charges.

Powell termed this action "unprecedented" and ascribed it to President Donald Trump's ongoing threats and pressure on the Fed to lower interest rates.

Selling pressure waned over the course of the session, however, as traders remain optimistic about the outlook for interest rates. While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at its next meeting later this month, the central bank is still likely to cut rates by at least another quarter point in the coming months.

Crude oil prices climbed on Monday as the increasing possibility of U.S. intervention to end the Iran turmoil sets off production disruption concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was up $0.33 or 0.51 percent at $59.42 per barrel.