Seoul shares slip; KEB, Kumho Industrial rise

* KOSPI down 0.1 pct on foreign, institutional selling

* Kumho Industrial rallies as sale of Daewoo E&C nears

* KEB advances on Hana Financial acquisition interest

(Updates to close)

By Jungyoun Park

SEOUL, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Seoul shares ended slightly lower on Monday on losses by key technology and auto stocks including Hyundai Motor (005380.KS), but gains in banks such as KEB (004940.KS) and Kumho Industrial (002990.KS) lent support.

"Volume is pretty light today. Caution is pervading ahead of key U.S. housing and consumer data," said Lawrence Kim, a market analyst at Woori Investment & Securities.

"But expectations for an year end rally are still very much alive," said Bae Sung-young, a market analyst at Hyundai Securities.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index .KS11 (KOSPI) ended down 0.1 percent at 1,619.05 points.

Shares in Kumho Industrial (002990.KS) jumped 7.69 percent as its parent Kumho Asiana Group was on Monday expected to announce preferred bidders for Daewoo Engineering & Construction (047040.KS), in which the group owns a controlling stake.

Kumho Asiana announced after the market's close An Abu Dhabi fund-led consortium and a group including a U.S. builder had been picked as preferred buyers of the construction firm. [ID:nSEL002777]

"Kumho Industrial shared a lot of the financial burden of the group acquiring Daewoo Engineering, and expectations the sale of the builder will proceed at a satisfactory price are boosting the shares," said Yoon Jin-il, an analyst at IBK Securities.

Banking issues rose led by Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), which rallied after the chairman of Hana Financial Group told reporters late on Friday that the group could look at the country's No.6 commercial lender for an acquisition. [ID:nSEO270779]

KEB ended up 1.37 percent after rising more than 5 percent to hit their highest in over 17 months.

"The acquisition of KEB will help Hana become a bigger domestic player. KEB also has a solid overseas business network," said Ku Yong-uk, an analyst at Daewoo Securities.

Hana Financial (086790.KS) ended up 0.52 percent.

LG Electronics (066570.KS) dipped 0.46 percent amid renewed speculation the electronics giant may bid for Hynix Semiconductor (000660.KS), the world's No.2 memory chip maker. Hynix shed 0.52 percent.

"There have been media reports about the possibility but it is simply a rumour at this stage. It's also true LG Electronics is a well-suited suitor," said Cho Sung-eun, an analyst at KB Investment & Securities.

Carmakers declined, with Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) down 1.96 percent and Kia Motors (000270.KS) falling 1.7 percent.

Elsewhere shipbuilders fell as the Baltic Dry Index .BADI, which measures the cost of shipping key commodities, shed 3.3 percent.

Samsung Heavy Industries (010140.KS) declined 1.61 percent and STX Offshore & Shipbuilding (067250.KS) retreated 1.95 percent.