(RTTNews) – The South Korea stock market has climbed higher in two straight sessions, advancing almost 20 points or 0.6 percent in that span. The KOSPI now sits just shy of the 3,200-point plateau and it may open to the upside again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement ahead of key U.S. inflation data later today. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Thursday as gains from the financials and automobile producers were capped by weakness from the chemicals and a mixed picture from the technology stocks.
For the day, the index rose 9.16 points or 0.29 percent to a finish at 3,196.32 after trading between 3,164.08 and 3,211.34. Volume was 309 million shares worth 9.5 trillion won. There were 480 gainers and 383 decliners.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial added 0.61 percent, while KB Financial collected 0.55 percent, Hana Financial climbed 1.10 percent, Samsung Electronics retreated 1.42 percent, Samsung SDI tumbled 1.78 percent, LG Electronics improved 0.68 percent, SK Hynix rallied 3.27 percent, Naver fell 0.23 percent, LG Chem slumped 1.20 percent, Lotte Chemical surrendered 2.73 percent, SK Innovation eased 0.14 percent, POSCO Holdings stumbled 2.04 percent, SK Telecom dropped 0.90 percent, KEPCO shed 0.27 percent, Hyundai Motor advanced 0.91 percent, Kia Motors accelerated 2.13 percent and Hyundai Mobis was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday but tracked steadily higher as the day progressed, ending near session highs.
The Dow gained 71.67 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 45,636.90, while the NASDAQ climbed 115.02 points or 0.53 percent to end at 21,705.16 and the S&P 500 rose 20.46 points or 0.32 percent to close at 6,501.86.
The strength that emerged on Wall Street came as traders digested highly anticipated earnings news from Nvidia (NVDA), with the AI darling and market leader reporting reported second quarter results that largely exceeded expectations but data center sales that came in below estimates.
Investors were also looking ahead to the release of the Commerce Department’s report later today on personal income and spending in July, which includes the Federal Reserve’s preferred readings on consumer price inflation.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy grew more than estimated in the second quarter of 2025. Also, the Labor Department noted a modest decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Thursday following a drop in U.S. crude inventories a day earlier. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $0.42 or 0.65 percent at $64.57 per barrel.
Closer to home, South Korea will see July data for industrial production and retail sales later this morning; in June, production was up 1.6 percent both on month and on year, while sales rose 0.5 percent on month.
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