The South Korea stock market on Tuesday ended the four-day losing streak in which it had slumped more than 100 points or 3.6 percent. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 2,775-point plateau and it\'s likely to remain in that neighborhood again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat with a touch of downside ahead of earnings news and economic data later this week. The European and U.S. markets were slightly lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.
The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Tuesday following gains from the automobile producers and mixed performances from the financial shares and technology stocks.
For the day, the index added 10.78 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 2,774.29 after trading between 2,765.81 and 2,796.92. Volume was 416 million shares worth 11.3 trillion won. There were 494 decliners and 365 gainers.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial perked 0.18 percent, while KB Financial rallied 2.08 percent, Hana Financial fell 0.47 percent, Samsung Electronics climbed 1.08 percent, Samsung SDI tanked 2.04 percent, LG Electronics soared 2.61 percent, Naver retreated 1.22 percent, LG Chem tumbled 2.61 percent, Lotte Chemical slumped 1.36 percent, SK Innovation skidded 1.02 percent, POSCO stumbled 1.93 percent, SK Telecom sank 0.74 percent, KEPCO skidded 1.02 percent, Hyundai Mobis added 0.45 percent, Hyundai Motor spiked 3.33 percent, Kia Motors accelerated 3.97 percent and SK Hynix was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street ends up soft as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and spent almost the entire session in the green before a late slump dropped them barely into negative territory.
The Dow shed 57.35 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 40,358.09, while the NASDAQ dipped 10.22 points or 0.06 percent to close at 17.997.35 and the S&P 500 fell 8.70 points or 0.16 percent to end at 5,555.71.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders expressed some uncertainty about the outlook for the markets following recent volatility.
Traders may also have been reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of key earnings and economic news in the coming days.
Later in the week, focus is likely to shift to a report on personal income and spending in June, which includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.
Oil prices fell to near seven-week lows on Tuesday as investors brace for a likely drop in demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended down $1.44 or 1.83 percent at $76.96 a barrel, the lowest settlement since June 7.