KOSPI May See Resistance At 2,100 Points

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market put on just a single point on Wednesday - but that was enough to extend its winning streak to three sessions, collecting more than 15 points or 0.7 percent in that span. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,095-point plateau and the market figures to hold steady in that neighborhood.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky ahead of U.S. employment data and concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were mixed but little changed and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The KOSPI finished barely higher on Wednesday as gains from the financial shares and technology stocks were capped by weakness from the automobile producers.

For the day, the index added 1.36 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 2,095.41 after trading between 2,088.19 and 2,101.56. Volume was 375 million shares worth 4.38 trillion won. There were 431 decliners and 358 gainers.

Among the actives, SK hynix dropped 1.64 percent, while LG Electronics spiked 2.53 percent, KB Financial advanced 1.98 percent, S-Oil jumped 0.91 percent, Shinhan Financial collected 0.43 percent, POSCO added 0.69 percent, Hyundai Motor shed 0.69 percent, Kia Motors skidded 1.09 percent, SK Telecom surged 4.33 percent and Samsung Electronics and Woori Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as stocks were lackluster on Wednesday before ending on opposite sides of the unchanged line.

The NASDAQ added 3.62 points or 0.1 percent to 5,837.55, while the Dow fell 69.03 points or 0.3 percent to 20,855.73 and the S&P 500 dipped 5.41 points or 0.2 percent to 2,362.98.

The choppy trading came ahead of Friday's jobs report, as well as next week's Federal Reserve meeting. Expectations that the Fed will raise interest rates have increased recently, with CME Group's FedWatch tool indicating a 90.8 percent probability of a quarter-point rate hike.

Adding to expectations for a rate hike, payroll processor ADP reported a sharp jump in private sector employment in February.

Crude oil futures tumbled Wednesday after data showed another huge build in U.S. stockpiles, adding to record inventories. April WTI oil plunged $2.86 or 5.4 percent to settle at $50.28/bbl, the worst daily performance in more than a year. A stronger dollar also weighed on oil prices.