Asian Market Commentary
South Korean Market Pares Early Gains
2/9/2010 10:28 PM ET
(RTTNews) -
After moving up sharply in early trades on Wednesday on positive cues from Wall Street, the South Korean stock market has drifted lower due to stiff resistance at higher levels and is currently trading slightly below the unchanged line.
The benchmark KOSPI index, which rose to 1,581.6 in early trades, is currently down 1.5 points or 0.12% at 1,569.
Bank stocks are trading firm. Korea Exchange Bank, Woori Finance, Shinhan Financial and KB Financial are up 2.5%-3% over their previous closing prices.
In the technology space, heavyweight Samsung Electronics and LG Display LCD are down 0.9% and 0.2% respectively. Hynix Semiconductor is up with a marginal gain, while LG Electronics is trading stronger by about 3.2%.
Among shipping stocks, STX Pan Ocean is gaining about 2.2%, while Daewoo Shipbuilding, Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries are trading flat.
Steel stocks are trading notably higher. Oil stocks are exhibiting a mixed trend. Automobile and telecom stocks are also trading mixed, while airliners Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are down with modest losses.
Shares of department store chain operator Lotte Shopping are up nearly a percent after early weakness. The Lotte Group is reportedly buying GS Retail's department and discount store operations for around US$1.15 billion. The move is expected to aid the company in catching up with top players in the retail segment. Lotte Group, it may be recalled, had struck a deal with Chinese supermarket operator Times Limited in October last year, and then entered into a deal to buy a convenience store chain 'Buy The Way' this January.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia, Indonesia, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan, New Zealand and Taiwan are trading firm, while Singapore is exhibiting weakness. Markets across the region had closed on a mixed note on Tuesday.
On Wall Street, stocks rallied on Tuesday amid some hectic bargain hunting and hopes of a bailout for debt-embattled Greece. The major averages all closed in positive territory, moving further away from recent three-month closing lows.
The Dow gained 150.3 points or 1.5% to end at 10,058.6, the Nasdaq moved up 24.8 points or 1.2% to 2,150.9 and the S&P 500 ended higher by 13.8 points or 1.3% at 1,070.5.
Major European markets posted modest gains on Tuesday. The French CAC 40 and the German DAX index both gained 0.2%, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index ended up 0.4%.
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