The South Korea stock market has tracked higher in two straight sessions, gathering almost 30 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just shy of the 2,440-point plateau and it's expected to open in the green again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is firm following strong employment data from the United States. The European and U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.
The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financials and automobile producers, while the technology stocks were mixed.
For the day, the index gained 15.95 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 2,438.96 after trading between 2,418.11 and 2,445.31. Volume was 596 million shares worth 8.6 trillion won. There were 415 gainers and 407 decliners.
Among the actives, Shinhan Financial advanced 1.26 percent, while Woori Bank collected 1.31 percent, Hana Financial gained 0.72 percent, Samsung Electronics climbed 1.18 percent, LG Electronics plummeted 4.75 percent, SK hynix spiked 2.14 percent, Hyundai Motor added 0.72 percent, Kia Motors jumped 2.41 percent, Hyundai Heavy advanced 0.87 percent, S-Oil picked up 0.47 percent and Hyundai Steel and POSCO were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as stocks showed a strong move to the upside on Friday as traders reacted to upbeat employment data - allowing the NASDAQ to hit its best closing level in two months.
The Dow added 219.37 points or 0.90 percent to 24,635.21, the Nasdaq spiked 112.21 points or 1.51 percent to 7,554.33 and the S&P surged 29.35 points or 1.08 percent to 2,734.62. For the week, the Dow fell 0.5 percent, the NASDAQ jumped 1.6 percent and the S&P added 0.5 percent.
The strength followed the Labor Department report showing stronger than expected job growth in May. The unemployment fell to 3.8 percent in May from 3.9 percent in April, touching its lowest level since April 2000.
Also, the Institute for Supply Management noted that growth in manufacturing activity picked up more than expected in May.
Crude oil futures moved lower Friday as an upbeat jobs report lifted the dollar and dented commodities. July WTI oil fell $1.23 or 1.8 percent to $65.81/bbl. Oil suffered its worst week since April, down 3.1 percent.
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