Seoul shares seen up on U.S. data; eyes on Samsung

SEOUL, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Seoul shares may rise on Friday
after positive U.S. gross domestic product data overnight, which
will likely stoke foreign buying, while Samsung Electronics
(005930.KS) will be followed ahead of its results announcement.

"Shares will start off in positive territory following their
latest losses, and helped by positive U.S. GDP data...I expect
U.S. data to renew foreign buying in Seoul shares as global
economic worries ease a bit," said Lim Dong-min, a market analyst
at Dongbu Securities.

"The index has neared its 120-day moving average following
losses in recent sessions, but will firm above that level today,"
Lim added.

The main index's 120-day moving average is about 1,540
points, Thomson Reuters data showed.

Shares in Samsung Electronics will be closely followed as the
world's No.1 memory chip maker and the largest share on South
Korea's benchmark index is set to post its quarterly results.

Energy issues such as SK Energy (096770.KS) could be helped
by gains overnight in crude prices CLc1, while key exporters
including Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) and LG Electronics
(066570.KS) could also be boosted by the positive U.S. data.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index .KS11 ended down 1.48
percent at 1,585.85 points on Thursday, the lowest close since
Aug. 21, after sliding nearly 3 percent.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2254 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 1066.11 2.25% 23.480
USD/JPY JPY= 91.56 0.15% 0.140
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 3.4955 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD XAU= 1045.9 0.09% 0.950
US CRUDE CLc1 80.16 0.36% 0.290
DOW JONES .DJI 9962.58 2.05% 199.89
ASIA ADRS .BKAS 122.99 3.47% 4.13
-------------------------------------------------------------
MARKET SUMMARY
*Wall St scores best day since July on GDP data [nN29379890]
*Oil jumps more than $2 after U.S. GDP growth [nSYD364109]
*US dollar falls after GDP as safe-haven flows ease [nN29378252]
*Treasuries fall as Q3 GDP raises recovery hopes [nN29572058]

STOCKS TO WATCH

HYUNDAI HEAVY INDUSTRIES (009540.KS)

Hyundai Heavy reported a 55 percent rise in quarterly
operating profit helped by solid results in its offshore plant
unit, but the result missed forecasts due to the weakening
shipbuilding business. [ID:nSEL002726]

KB FINANCIAL GROUP (105560.KS)

KB Financial posted a bigger-than-expected drop in quarterly
earnings, dented by provisioning costs and slow recovery in
interest margins.[ID:nSEO324512]

STX OFFSHORE & SHIPBUILDING (067250.KS)

STX Offshore & Shipbuilding said on Thursday it was in talks
with the Korea Development Bank (KDB) to sell a stake in STX
Heavy Industries Co.

(Reporting by Jungyoun Park; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)