Seoul shares may make cautious start; eyes on KOGAS

SEOUL, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Seoul shares may trade in a tight
range on Wednesday, with caution prevailing after falls
overnight on Wall Street and ahead of key earnings and economic
data this week, including those of Samsung Electronics
(005930.KS).

"U.S. shares fell a bit, but were in large part flat, and
offer little direction to Seoul markets. Weak U.S. consumer
confidence data could weigh on sentiment though," said Kim
Seung-han, a market analyst at HI Investment & Securities.

"Caution will likely rule markets and shares will probably
trade within a boxed range at the index's current level, as
investors will want to confirm some key economic data and
earnings," Kim added.

News early on Wednesday that South Korea posted a
seasonally adjusted current account surplus of $3.66 billion in
September, more than double a revised $1.65 billion surplus in
August, could boost sentiment. [ID:nSEV002882]

Meanwhile, shares in South Korea's state-run Korea Gas Corp
(KOGAS) (036460.KS) could come under pressure after the company
said late on Tuesday its net loss for the third quarter widened
from a year ago to 125.1 billion won.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index .KS11 (KOSPI)
finished down 0.46 percent at 1,649.53 points on Tuesday.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2241 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 1063.41 -0.33% -3.540
USD/JPY JPY= 91.71 -0.07% -0.060
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 3.4523 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD XAU= 1039.2 0.04% 0.400
US CRUDE CLc1 79.67 0.15% 0.120
DOW JONES .DJI 9882.17 0.14% 14.21
ASIA ADRS .BKAS 122.44 -0.71% -0.88
-------------------------------------------------------------
MARKET SUMMARY *Profit-taking, data weigh on Wall St; Visa up
late[nN27268131] *Oil rises above $79 as US fuel demand firms

[nSYD488656] *Dollar hits 2-wk high as consumer confidence
falls[nN27263405] *Treasuries rise on consumer data, strong
auction [nN27578290]

STOCKS TO WATCH

STEELMAKERS

Tata Steel Ltd (TISC.BO) gave an upbeat second-half
forecast for its India business, saying it expected demand to
pick up in Asia's No.3 economy. [ID:nBOM516772]

HYUNDAI MOBIS

Macquarie raised upgraded its rating on Hyundai Mobis
(012330.KS) to "outperform" from "neutral" and raised its
target price on auto parts maker to 200,000 won. Shares in
Hyundai Mobis closed at 166,000 won on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Jungyoun Park; Editing by Alex Richardson)