Seoul shares seen lower;eyes on LG Display, Hynix

SEOUL, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Seoul shares may fall on Thursday
after losses on Wall Street, with news of China's curbs on bank
lending set to weigh on sentiment, while LG Display and Hynix
could be followed after their results.

"Reports of China's curbs on lending activities by banks will
dent sentiment today, with commodities related stocks,
particularly steel issues, coming under pressure," said Choi
Seong-lak, a market analyst at SK Securities.

"But I do not think this will be a longer-term negative, as
China's move is seen to curb overheating of its real estate
sector, not the economy itself," Choi added.

Chinese authorities ordered some big banks to curb lending or
the rest of January.[ID:nTOE60J09N]

Shares in LG Display (034220.KS) could be followed after the
world's No.2 LCD panel maker reported on Wednesday a smaller then
expected quarterly operating profit on seasonal demand weakness
for flat screens and a stronger local currency, but the sector is
headed for a strong 2010 on robust Chinese demand.
[ID:nTOE60I01A]

LG Display and Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) could be
lifted by news the companies are likely key suppliers for Apple's
(AAPL.O) eagerly awaited tablet computer.[ID:nLDE60J17F]

Hynix Semiconductor (000660.KS) may also be tracked after the
world's No.2 memory chip maker posted a higher than expected
quarterly operating profit as chip prices rallied and demand rose
in an ongoing sector recovery.[ID:nTOE60J0AS]

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index .KS11 (KOSPI)
finished up 0.24 percent to 1,714.38 points on Wednesday.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2246 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 1138.04 -1.06% -12.190
USD/JPY JPY= 91.28 0.07% 0.060
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 3.6532 -- -0.047
SPOT GOLD XAU= 1110.2 -0.08% -0.900
US CRUDE CLc1 77.62 -1.77% -1.400
DOW JONES .DJI 10603.15 -1.14% -122.28
ASIA ADRS .BKAS 131.95 -2.82% -3.83
-------------------------------------------------------------
MARKET SUMMARY
*Wall St drops on China, IBM; eBay jumps late [nN20138705]
*Oil falls below $78 on equities, China loans [nSGE60J079]
*Euro hits 5-mo low vs dlr; China hurts risk appetite
[nN20189508]
*Treasuries prices rise as stocks battered [nN20177266]

STOCKS TO WATCH

SAMSUNG SDI (006400.KS)

Samsung SDI reported 218 billion won in net profit for fiscal
2009, compared with 38.9 billion won the previous
year.[ID:nSEL002885]

KOGAS (036460.KS)

KOGAS said late on Wednesday that it would invest $6.5
billion in the development of the Zubair oilfield in Iraq, as
part of a consortium planning to sign a final deal on the 4
billion barrel oilfield on Friday.[ID:nTOE60J098]

POSCO (005490.KS)

Warren Buffett said his Berkshire Hathaway Inc BBKa.N was
not buying more shares of POSCO, ending speculation that he
planned to increase Berkshire's estimated 4.5 percent stake in
the world's fourth-largest steelmaker.[ID:nN20147965]

(Reporting by Jungyoun Park; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)