The South Korea stock market has closed higher now in two straight sessions, rising almost 20 points or 1 percent along the way. The KOSPI finished just below the 1,960-point plateau, and now investors are looking for continued support when the market kicks off trade on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is fairly upbeat, following better than expected employment and manufacturing data out of the United States. Technology stocks figure to lead the rally, along with steel companies and brokerages. The European and U.S. markets finished firmly in the green, and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The KOSPI finished barely higher on Wednesday following gains from the construction stocks and chemical companies.
For the day, the index added 3.45 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 1,959.24 after trading between 1,947.46 and 1,969.80 on volume of 494.7 million shares. There were 521 gainers and 310 decliners.
Among the gainers, Hyundai Engineering and Construction climbed 4.75 percent, while Samsung Engineering jumped 4.9 percent, LG Electronics added 1.93 percent, LG Chem collected 3.48 percent, SK Chemicals surged 5.26 percent, Hyundai Mobis gathered 2.17 percent and Hi-mart spiked 6.97 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks turned in a strong performance on Wednesday following the latest batch of economic data. The upward move on the day came after the markets experienced choppy trading in the previous session.
The strength was partly due to the release of a report from payroll processor ADP showing a continued increase in private sector employment in the month of January. ADP said employment in the non-farm private business sector rose by 170,000 jobs in January following a revised increase of 292,000 jobs in December.
Also, the Institute for Supply Management reported a continued expansion in manufacturing activity in January, with the index reaching a seven-month high. The ISM's purchasing managers index rose to 54.1 in January from a revised 53.1 in December, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the manufacturing sector. That followed separate reports showing expansions in manufacturing activity in both Germany and China.
Additionally, the Commerce Department released a report showing a much bigger than expected increase in U.S. construction spending in December.
Positive sentiment was also generated by reports that social networking site Facebook may soon file paperwork for a $5 billion initial public offering. Morgan Stanley (MS), which was reportedly selected as the lead underwriter for the offering, rose by 4 percent on the day.
Shares of Whirlpool (WHR) also moved sharply higher after the appliance maker forecast 2012 earnings above analyst estimates. Whirlpool jumped by 13.5 percent to a five-month closing high.
On the other hand, online retailer Amazon.com (AMZN) came under pressure after reporting weaker than expected fourth quarter sales and providing disappointing guidance.
The major averages ended the session off their best levels of the day but still closed firmly in positive territory. The Dow rose 83.55 points or 0.7 percent to 12,716.46, the NASDAQ jumped 34.43 points or 1.2 percent to 2,848.27 and the S&P 500 advanced 11.67 points or 0.9 percent to 1,324.08. The strong gain on the day extended a recent upward move by the tech-heavy NASDAQ, which reached its best closing level in over six months.
In economic news, South Korea saw a merchandise trade deficit of $1.96 billion, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said on Wednesday, swinging to a shortfall for the first time in two years. That was well shy of analyst expectations for a surplus of $0.56 billion following the $3.405 billion surplus a month earlier.
Exports fell for the first time in 27 months, plunging 6.6 percent on year to $41.54 billion, the data showed - missing forecasts for an increase of 1.1 percent on year after collecting 10.8 percent in the previous month. Imports climbed 3.6 percent on year to $43.49 billion versus forecasts for a gain of 5.1 percent on year following the 13.6 percent increase in December.
Also, Statistics Korea said that consumer prices in South Korea were up 3.4 percent on year in January, below forecasts for a 3.6 percent increase and down from 4.2 percent in December. On a monthly basis, consumer prices added 0.5 percent after collecting 0.4 percent in December.
Also, activity in South Korea's manufacturing sector decreased at a slower pace in January, a survey by HSBC Bank and Markit Economics said on Wednesday. The purchasing managers' index for the manufacturing sector came in at 49.2 in January, up from 46.4 recorded in December. The index remained below the no-change 50 mark, which separates growth from contraction, for the sixth successive month.
On the corporate front, South Korea's LG Electronics on Wednesday reported its parent-based net loss in 2011 narrowed to 277.9 billion won from 635.9 billion won last year. The operating loss for 2011 narrowed to 299.2 billion won from 1.1 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sales fell 3.9 percent to 28.1 trillion won from 29.239 trillion won a year ago.
Also, Hyundai Motor America, a subsidiary of South Korea's Hyundai Motor, on Wednesday said its total sales for January rose 15 percent to a record 42,694 vehicles from 37,214 vehicles in the same month last year.
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Market Analysis
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.