(RTTNews) - The South Korean stock market on Wednesday halted the six-day losing streak that had cost it nearly 110 points or 7 percent on its way to a fresh two-month closing low. The KOSPI finished just below the 1,580-point plateau, and now analysts are expecting the market to inch slightly higher again at the opening of trade on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed with a touch of upside, as support from the commodities on rising prices could be offset by selling among the financial and technology sectors. The European markets were sharply higher, while the U.S. bourses ended little changed - and the Asian markets are forecast to post modest gains.

The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Wednesday, as investors took advantage of some bargain hunting following the recent decline. Financials were up firmly, while the technology stocks and automobile producers also ended higher.

For the day, the index jumped 30.01 points or 1.9 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,579.93 after dipping as low as 1,550.73. Volume was 262.6 million shares worth 3.7 trillion won. There were 541 gainers and 257 decliners.

Among the gainers, KB Financial Group gained 1.8 percent, while Hana Financial Group added 1.2 percent, Shinhan Financial Group was up 2.8 percent, Korea Exchange Bank surged 7.8 percent, Samsung Securities climbed 6.3 percent, Daewoo Securities jumped 7.3 percent, Samsung Electronics was up 0.6 percent, Hynix Semiconductor added 4.4 percent, Hyundai Motor gained 1.4 percent, Kia Motors climbed 1.9 percent and Seoul Semiconductor surged 5.4 percent.

Wall Street provides little guidance as stocks closed mixed for a second straight session on Wednesday, giving up earlier gains following news that the Federal Reserve left interest rates near record lows amid continued economic concerns. The major averages finished on opposite sides of the unchanged mark, extending their lackluster performance.

The choppy trading came after the Fed left its target for the federal funds rate unchanged in a range from zero to a quarter percent and reiterated its assessment that “exceptionally” low rates will continue for an “extended period.”

Heading into the announcement, the Fed was expected to leave rates unchanged, though there had been some expectation that the central bank would start to pave the way for an eventual rate hike down the road.

The equity markets saw considerable upside this morning as traders bought into the market despite a pair of rather lukewarm economic reports.

The Institute for Supply Management said that activity in the service sector grew for the second consecutive month in October, but the pace of growth unexpectedly slowed compared to the previous month. The index of activity in the service sector edged down to 50.6 in October from 50.9 in September, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector. The decrease by the index came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the index to rise to 51.5.

Separately, Automatic Data Processing, Inc. reported that private sector employment continued to decrease in the month of October, although the pace of job losses slowed for the seventh consecutive month. Non-farm private employment fell by 203,000 jobs in October following a revised decrease of 227,000 jobs in September. Economists had expected a loss of 198,000 jobs compared to the decrease of 254,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The major averages all saw notable downside in late day trading, pushing the tech-heavy NASDAQ into negative territory. The NASDAQ closed down by 1.80 points or 0.1 percent at 2,055.52, while the Dow rose by 30.23 points or 0.3 percent to 9,802.14 and the S&P 500 gained 1.09 points or 0.1 percent to close at 1,046.50.

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Posted in Categories: Eurozone, Releases, Stocks, USA.

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