Major Upward Spike Expected For KOSPI

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has tracked lower in four straight sessions, tumbling almost 600 points or 11 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 5,050-point plateau although it's overdue for support on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism for an end to hostilities in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Tuesday with damage across the board, especially among the financial shares, technology stocks, chemical companies and automobile producers.

For the day, the index plummeted 224.84 points or 4.26 percent to finish at 5,052.46 after trading between 5,042.99 and 5,233.99. Volume was 1.15 billion shares worth 28.23 trillion won. There were 789 decliners and 117 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial contracted 3.09 percent, while KB Financial slumped 2.74 percent, Hana Financial fell 0.56 percent, Samsung Electronics tumbled 5.16 percent, Samsung SDI shed 1.09 percent, LG Electronics skidded 2.49 percent, SK Hynix cratered 7.56 percent, Naver dropped 2.66 percent, LG Chem plummeted 7.14 percent, Lotte Chemical sank 1.83 percent, SK Innovation plunged 4.14 percent, POSCO Holdings retreated 3.06 percent, SK Telecom lost 2.43 percent, KEPCO was down 1.30 percent, Hyundai Mobis crashed 5.03 percent, Hyundai Motor stumbled 5.11 percent and Kia Motors surrendered 4.16 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and continued to accelerate throughout the day, ending at session highs.

The Dow surged 1,125.37 points or 2.49 percent to finish at 46,341.51, while the NASDAQ rallied 795.99 points or 3.83 percent to end at 21,590.63 and the S&P 500 jumped 184.80 points or 2.91 percent to close at 6,528.52.

Despite the rally on the day, the major averages all posted steep losses for the month of March. The Dow plummeted 5.4 percent, the S&P 500 plunged 5.1 percent and the NASDAQ tumbled 4.8 percent.

The rally on Wall Street followed reports that U.S. President Donald Trump is looking to end the war in the Middle East even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed.

Bargain hunting also contributed to the strength on Wall Street, with the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 bouncing off their lowest closing levels in almost eight months.

Crude oil plummeted Tuesday on reports that Trump was willing to push Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz through diplomatic efforts. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was down $1.28 or 1.24 percent at $101.60 per barrel.