The South Korean stock market on Wednesday halted the four-day losing streak in which it had declined nearly 70 points or 3.3 percent. The KOSPI finished just above the 2,135-point plateau, and now investors are anticipating further upside at the opening of trade on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is fairly positive, thanks to a rebound in commodity prices. Oil stocks figure to lead the way, while technology stocks also may provide support. The European and U.S. markets finished higher on Wednesday, and now the Asian bourses are also expected to track to the upside.
The KOSPI finished sharply higher on Wednesday as investors scooped up bargains following the recent losing streak - particularly among the automobile producers and shipbuilders.
For the day, the index jumped 33.37 points or 1.6 percent to finish at 2,135.78 after trading between 2,106.41 and 2,138.72.
Among the gainers, Hyundai Motor rallied 5.5 percent, while Kia Motors added 3.7 percent, Hyundai Heavy Industries soared 6.6 percent, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering jumped 5.3 percent and Samsung Heavy Industries climbed 5.4 percent.
Wall Street puts forth an optimistic lead as stocks showed a strong upward move over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. The markets benefited from an increase in commodities prices, with energy stocks helping to lead the way higher as the price of crude oil surged up $3.19 to $100.10 a barrel. That was partly due to a report from the Energy Department showing an unexpected decrease in crude oil inventories. The report showed that crude oil inventories edged down by 15,000 barrels in the week ended May 13 compared to analyst estimates for an increase of about 1 million barrels.
Buying interest was also generated by a positive reaction to quarterly results and guidance from computer giant Dell (DELL). Shares of Dell rose by 5.4 percent to their best closing level in a year after the company reported first quarter adjusted earnings of $0.55 per share, well above analyst estimates for earnings of $0.44 per share. However, the company also reported revenues of $15.02 billion, shy of the consensus estimate of $15.41 billion.
Stocks saw continued strength in the afternoon as traders digested the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting, which showed that Fed officials held extensive discussions about the strategy for exiting from the ultra-accommodative monetary policy that has supported the U.S economy.
At the conclusion of the two-day meeting in April, the Fed voted to continue its $600 billion asset purchase program and maintain near-zero interest rates, a move that was in line with market expectations. However, according to the minutes, there were signs of division among members about when to scale back unprecedented support measures.
The major averages closed firmly in positive territory, near their best levels of the day. The Dow advanced 80.60 points or 0.7 percent to 12,560.18, the NASDAQ jumped 31.79 points or 1.1 percent to 2,815.00 and the S&P 500 climbed 11.70 points or 0.9 percent to 1,340.68.
In economic news, South Korea's central bank will maintain a cautious approach to monetary policy in order to avoid excessive borrowing by households and companies, central bank governor Kim Choong Soo said on Wednesday. In a speech in Seoul, the governor said "the central bank will manage the rate policy in a way not to cause households or companies to rely on excessive borrowing."
Bank of Korea may take "baby steps" toward policy tightening going forward, reports said quoting the governor. He also reaffirmed concerns over rising inflationary pressures in the economy and said that core inflation may accelerate further in the coming months.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.