The South Korea stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four sessions since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 35 points or 1.7 percent. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,090-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to higher ahead of election results in the United States. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the industrial issues and mixed performances from the financials and technology shares.
For the day, the index advanced 12.70 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 2,089.62 after trading between 2,068.59 and 2,092.61. Volume was 307.93 million shares worth 5.01 trillion won. There were 505 gainers and 322 decliners.
Among the actives, POSCO spiked 2.45 percent, while Hyundai Motor soared 3.37 percent, Kia Motors advanced 2.30 percent, Shinhan Financial added 0.12 percent, KB Financial dipped 0.21 percent, Woori Bank collected 0.96 percent, Hana Financial picked up 0.39 percent, Samsung Electronics eased 0.11 percent, LG Electronics gained 0.59 percent, SK hynix lost 0.57 percent, SK Telecom slid 0.38 percent and KEPCO dropped 1.29 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks fluctuated on Tuesday but maintained an upward bias and finished in the green.
The Dow added 173.31 points or 0.68 percent to 25,635.01, while the NASDAQ gained 47.11 points or 0.64 percent to 7,375.96 and the S&P was up 17.14 points or 0.63 percent to 2,755.45.
The strength on Wall Street came as stocks continued to recover from the sell-off seen in October, which was one of the worst months for the markets in years.
However, traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves amid uncertainty about the outcome of the midterm elections - which will decide control of the House and the Senate and have a major impact on President Donald Trump's ability to enact his pro-business agenda.
Traders also looked ahead to Thursday's Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement. The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but traders will keep a close eye on the accompanying statement for clues about an expected rate hike in December.
Crude oil prices fell again on Tuesday, extending their slide to a seventh successive session on prospects of a drop in demand amid uncertainty about global economic growth. Crude oil futures for December ended down $0.89 or 1.4 percent at $62.21 a barrel.
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