The South Korea stock market on Monday snapped the three-day slide in which it had slumped almost 40 points or 1.6 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,600-point plateau although it may see renewed selling pressure on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative with profit taking likely for many of the regions. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.
The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the chemical companies and a mixed performance from the financials and technology stocks.
For the day, the index added 11.1 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 2,604.92 after trading between 2,594.05 and 2,618.71. Volume was 235.86 million shares worth 7.6 trillion won. There were 434 gainers and 427 decliners.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial retreated 1.24 percent, while KB Financial dropped 0.95 percent, Hana Financial skidded 1.07 percent, Samsung Electronics fell 0.34 percent, Samsung SDI rallied 1.36 percent, LG Electronics dipped 0.10 percent, SK Hynix jumped 1.92 percent, LG Chem added 0.61 percent, Lotte Chemical spiked 2.79 percent, SK Innovation accelerated 2.05 percent, POSCO shed 0.43 percent, SK Telecom perked 0.18 percent, KEPCO advanced 0.95 percent, Hyundai Mobis was down 0.20 percent, Hyundai Motor climbed 1.07 percent, Kia Motors eased 0.11 percent and Naver was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is mixed to soft as the major averages opened lower on Monday and largely stayed that way, although the NASDAQ broke into the green late in the day.
The Dow stumbled 344.25 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 42,931.25, while the NASDAQ gained 50.45 points or 0.27 percent to close at 18,540.01 and the S&P 500 fell 10.69 points or 0.18 percent to end at 5,853.98.
The mixed performance on Wall Street came as profit taking brought the Dow down from a record closing high, while tech shares boosted the NASDAQ to a three-month closing high.
Overall trading activity was relatively subdued as traders looked ahead to the release of a slew of corporate earnings news from big-name companies later this week.
In economic news, the Conference Board said its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators fell by more than expected in the month of September.
Oil prices moved higher on Monday on possible disruptions in supplies due to escalating tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended up by $1.34 or 1.94 percent at $70.56 a barrel.