Additional Support Anticipated For South Korea Shares

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had given up almost 170 points or 4.1 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 4,020-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with technology and oil stocks expected to lead the markets higher. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index added 26.04 points or 0.65 percent to finish at 4,020.55 after trading between 3,997.05 and 4,055.78. Volume was 426 million shares worth 15.7 trillion won. There were 604 gainers and 276 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial strengthened 1.44 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.97 percent, Hana Financial improved 0.76 percent, Samsung Electronics slumped 1.21 percent, Samsung SDI advanced 0.90 percent, LG Electronics vaulted 1.40 percent, SK Hynix dropped 0.91 percent, Naver jumped 2.17 percent, LG Chem rallied 1.65 percent, Lotte Chemical tumbled 1.79 percent, SK Innovation climbed 0.95 percent, POSCO Holdings dipped 0.17 percent, SK Telecom expanded 0.94 percent, KEPCO spiked 2.28 percent, Hyundai Mobis surged 4.12 percent, Hyundai Motor accelerated 2.21 percent and Kia Motors added 0.50 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened firmly higher on Friday and remained in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow jumped 183.04 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 48,134.89, while the NASDAQ rallied 301.26 points or 1.31 percent to end at 23,307.62 and the S&P 500 gained 59.74 points or 0.88 percent to close at 6,834.50.

For the week, the Dow slid 0.7 percent, the NASDAQ added 0.5 percent and the S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent.

The continued strength on Wall Street came amid sharp gains from the technology shares thanks to solid earnings news and easing concerns of a tech bubble.

In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Realtors reported a modest increase by existing home sales in the U.S. in November. Also, the University of Michigan said consumer sentiment in the U.S. rebounded less than expected in December.

Crude oil increased on Friday amid concerns of a supply side disruption due to brewing U.S.-Venezuela tensions. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was up by $0.47 or 0.84 percent at $56.62 per barrel.