South Korea Bourse May Test Resistance At 2,400 Points

Ahead of Friday's holiday for Hangul Day, the South Korea stock market had finished higher in seven straight sessions, soaring almost 125 points or 6.4 percent along the way. The KOSPI now rests just above the 2,390-point plateau and it's looking at a firm open again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with optimism for stimulus tempered by weakness from the oil markets. The European and U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The KOSPI finished slightly higher on Thursday as gains from the oil and chemical companies were capped by weakness from the technology stocks and a mixed picture from the financials and industrials.

For the day, the index added 5.02 points or 0.21 percent to finish at 2,391.96 after trading between 2,383.82 and 2,409.01. Volume was 939 million shares worth 12.2 trillion won. There were 510 gainers and 300 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial lost 0.53 percent, while KB Financial eased 0.13 percent, Hana Financial advanced 1.01 percent, Samsung Electronics fell 0.33 percent, LG Electronics was down 1.91 percent, SK Hynix shed 0.60 percent, Samsung SDI climbed 1.25 percent, LG Chem jumped 1.76 percent, Lotte Chemical surged 5.29 percent, S-Oil added 1.25 percent, SK Innovation rose 1.05 percent, POSCO perked 1.46 percent, SK Telecom slid 0.41 percent, KEPCO gathered 1.69 percent, Hyundai Motor skidded 1.37 percent and Kia Motors was up 1.19 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as stocks opened higher on Friday and remained in the green throughout the session to finish higher for the third straight day.

The Dow climbed 161.40 points or 0.57 percent to finish at 28,586.90, while the NASDAQ spiked 158.94 points or 1.39 percent to end at 11,579.94 and the S&P 500 jumped 30.30 points or 0.88 percent to close at 3,477.13. For the week, the Dow surged 3.8 percent, the NASDAQ spiked 4.6 percent and the S&P gained 3.3 percent.

Continued optimism about a new stimulus bill contributed to the strength on Wall Street, as traders kept a close eye on the latest developments in Washington. The major averages spiked after President Donald Trump suggested he was once again in favor of a broad relief package.

Trump's comments came amid reports that the White House was planning to offer a $1.8 trillion package, which is up from the administration's previous $1.6 trillion proposal but still below the $2.2 trillion bill passed by House Democrats.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill later said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had "returned to the table with a proposal that attempted to address some of the concerns Democrats have."

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Friday as traders made largely cautious moves, weighing demand and supply positions in the market. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November were lower by $0.59 or 1.4 percent at $40.60 a barrel.