Seoul shares seen edging down on euro zone worries

SEOUL, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Seoul shares are likely to inch
down on Thursday, with investors spooked by unrest in Spain and
Greece over proposed new austerity measures to ease their debt
burden.
The euro zone protests added to investor reluctance to build
positions before next week's local holiday.
"Foreign investors' diminishing risk appetite and increased
sell orders from equity funds have weighed on the index," said
Lee Sun-yup, an analyst at Shinhan Investment Corp.
"Until the euro zone crisis shows additional signs of
calming or there are policy moves from China, the finalization
of Spain's budget this week is expected to be a short-term
market catalyst."
World shares slumped on Wednesday as investors were unnerved
by violent opposition to Spain's economic austerity plans that
added to worries about Madrid's commitment to reform, as well as
a general strike in Greece and signs of discord among top euro
zone officials.
Local investors are also seen as hesitant with the market
closed on Monday for Chuseok, a major South Korean holiday.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended
down 0.55 percent to 1,980.44 points on Wednesday, its lowest
closing level since Sept. 13.

-----------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @21:57 GMT-------------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 1,433.32 -0.57% -8.270
USD/JPY 77.73 0.01% 0.010
10-YR US TSY YLD 1.610 -- -0.062
SPOT GOLD $1,754.19 0.15% 2.600
US CRUDE $90.00 0.02% 0.020
DOW JONES 13413.51 -0.33% -44.04
ASIA ADRS 119.37 -1.02% -1.23
-------------------------------------------------------------
>S&P 500 fall 5th day as euro-zone tensions escalate
>Prices rise as euro zone fears resurface
>Euro decline on Spain woes as bond yield tops 6 pct
>Oil fall as Europe crisis reinforces growth worries

---STOCKS TO WATCH---

**WOONGJIN COWAY **
South Korea's Woongjin Holdings applied for court
receivership on Wednesday along with unlisted affiliate builder
Kukdong Engineering & Construction, throwing into question
Woongjin Group's $1.1 billion sale of water purifier maker
Woongjin Coway to local private equity fund MBK Partners.

Woongjin Holdings is the largest shareholder of Woongjin
Coway. Woongjin Holdings shares were suspended from trading
after market close Wednesday, while some Woongjin affiliates'
shares plummeted after mid-trade reports of Kukdong E&C's
possible bankruptcy spooked investors.

**POSCO **
SK Telecom Co Ltd, South Korea's top mobile
operator, said on Wednesday that it will sell 1.24 million
shares in steelmaker POSCO for 437.3 billion Korean
won ($390.66 million), at a discount of up to 5 percent to
POSCO's Wednesday closing price of 371,000 won.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Eric Meijer)