Win Streak May Continue For South Korea Shares

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(RTTNews.com) - The South Korea stock market has ticked higher in back-to-back trading days, gathering almost 5 points or 0.2 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,520-point plateau and it's called higher again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, thanks to optimism that the U.S. government shutdown will end soon, although a fall in crude oil prices may weigh. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Friday as gains from the financials and industrials were offset by weakness from the technology stocks.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial surged 3.52 percent, while Woori Bank climbed 1.52 percent, Samsung Electronics skidded 1.16 percent, SK hynix tumbled 2.53 percent, POSCO added 0.13 percent, Hyundai Steel gained 0.85 percent, Hyundai Motor soared 4.52 percent, LG Chem jumped 1.56 percent and LG Electronics was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as stocks moved higher on Friday, lifting the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs.

The Dow rose 53.91 points or 0.21 percent to 26,071.72, while the NASDAQ advanced 40.33 points or 0.55 percent to 7,336.38 and the S&P 500 added 12.27 points or 0.44 percent to 2,810.30. For the week, the Dow and NASDAQ both surged 1 percent and the S&P 500 jumped 0.9 percent.

The strength came as optimism about the outlook for the economy and corporate earnings overshadowed concerns about a government shutdown as lawmakers failed to reach a last-minute agreement on a spending bill.

Traders seemed unfazed by a report from the University of Michigan showing an unexpected deterioration in consumer sentiment in January.

Crude oil prices continued to ease from recent four-year highs as February WTI oil was down 58 cents or 0.9 percent to settle at $63.37/bbl.

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