South Korea Shares Overdue For Profit Taking

The South Korea stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, accelerating more than 325 points or 7.4 percent in that span. Now at a fresh record closing high, the KOSPI sits just above the 4,550-point plateau although investors figure to lock in gains on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak, as traders are expected to lock in gains with several markets at or near record highs. The European and U.S. markets were mostly in the red and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following sharp gains from the industrials, weakness from the financials and a mixed picture from the technology stocks.

For the day, the index added 25.58 points or 0.57 percent to finish at 4,551.06 after trading between 4,488.20 and 4,611.72. Volume was 548.38 million shares worth 28.83 trillion won. There were 683 decliners and 199 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial stumbled 1.86 percent, while KB Financial retreated 1.34 percent, Hana Financial declined 1.48 percent, Samsung Electronics jumped 1.51 percent, Samsung SDI tanked 2.35 percent, LG Electronics contracted 1.81 percent, SK Hynix spiked 2.20 percent, Naver plunged 2.88 percent, LG Chem cratered 3.07 percent, Lotte Chemical climbed 1.00 percent, SK Innovation crashed 3.77 percent, POSCO Holdings rallied 1.32 percent, SK Telecom eased 0.19 percent, KEPCO tumbled 1.78 percent, Hyundai Mobis surged 7.24 percent, Hyundai Motor skyrocketed 13.80 percent and Kia Motors accelerated 5.55 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened slightly higher on Wednesday and hugged the line for much of the day before a late slump saw them end mixed.

The Dow dropped 466.00 points or 0.94 percent to finish at 48,996.08, while the NASDAQ rose 37.10 points or 0.16 percent to close at 23,584.28 and the S&P 500 sank 23.89 points or 0.34 percent to end at 6,920.93.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders took a step back to assess the recent strength in the markets, which lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs on Tuesday.

Traders were also digesting the latest U.S. economic data, including a report from payroll processor ADP showing private sector employment increased less than expected in December.

Also, the Labor Department said job openings in the U.S. fell more than expected in November, while the Institute for Supply Management noted an unexpected increase by its reading on U.S. service sector activity in December.

Crude oil prices plunged again on Wednesday due to emerging supply side concerns following U.S. attempts to gain control of Venezuelan oil wealth. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was down $1.11 or 1.94 percent at $56.02 per barrel.

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