The South Korea stock market on Tuesday snapped the two-day slide in which it had eased just 3 points or 0.1 percent. The KOSPI finished just below the 2,030-point plateau, and the market may extend those gains on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive thanks to upbeat economic data and earnings news. Markets in Europe and the United States were higher, and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following mixed results from the technology stocks and industrial shares.
For the day, the index climbed 10.43 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 2,028.93 after trading between 2,017.76 and 2,028.93. Volume was 261.69 million shares worth 3 trillion won.
Among the actives, Samsung Electronics shed 0.4 percent, while POSCO jumped 1.5 percent, SK Hynix climbed 1 percent, Naver spiked 2.2 percent, Hyundai Motor gained 0.7 percent and Kia Motors dipped 0.2 percent.
The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as stocks performed well on Tuesday after moving notably higher in early trade - offsetting the modest weakness that was seen in the previous session.
The Dow rose 61.81 points or 0.4 percent to 17,113.54, while the NASDAQ advanced 31.31 points or 0.7 percent to 4,456.02 and the S&P 500 climbed 9.90 points or 0.5 percent to 1,983.53.
The strength reflected a positive reaction to the day's U.S. economic data, including a report from the National Association of Realtors showing that existing home sales rose by more than expected in June - taking them to their highest annual rate since October.
Relatively tame inflation data also generated some buying interest, as the Labor Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.3 percent in June after climbing by 0.4 percent in May. The increase by the index matched estimates.
A positive reaction to the latest batch of earnings news also contributed to the strength on Wall Street, with Comcast (CMCSA) and Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) all reporting better than expected quarterly results.
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