Seoul shares seen gaining on U.S. data after holiday

SEOUL, Oct 2 (Reuters) - South Korean stocks are set to
begin the last quarter of this year on a positive note on
Tuesday after a three-day holiday, buoyed by a surprise
expansion in U.S. manufacturing.
Analysts said focus would be on Samsung Electronics
, which is expected to announce its earnings
estimates for the July-September period on Friday.
"Investors will remain on the fence while checking the
direction of the global economy and corporate earnings such as
Samsung Electronics," said Jeff Kim, an analyst at Kyobo
Securities.
U.S. manufacturing grew slightly last month for the first
time since May but euro zone factories suffered their worst
quarter since early 2009 and factory activity in China also
contracted.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose
0.4 percent to 1,996.21 points on Friday.
South Korean stock markets will close again on Wednesday for
a holiday.
-------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @21:40 GMT----------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 1,444.49 0.27% 3.820
USD/JPY 77.97 -0.01% -0.010
10-YR US TSY YLD 1.618 -- -0.015
SPOT GOLD $1,771.53 0.05% 0.840
US CRUDE $92.48 0.31% 0.290
DOW JONES 13515.11 0.58% 77.98
ASIA ADRS 120.39 0.04% 0.05
------------------------------------------------------------->Wa
l St kicks off October with modest gains
>Bond prices up as stocks fade
>U.S. dollar,yen slide as data fuels safe-haven exit
>Oil ends down on weak growth signals in Europe,Asia

---STOCKS TO WATCH---
**POSCO **
A consortium including Noble Group and POSCO
urged Arrium directors to continue
discussions on Monday after the Australian miner and steel maker
rejected a A$1.01 billion ($1.04 billion) takeover offer.

**SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS **
A U.S. appeals court ruled on Friday that a lower court
should reconsider a sales ban against Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1
won by Apple in a patent dispute with the South Korean
electronics maker.
Samsung is also expected to release its earnings estimates
for the July-September period on Friday.

**HYUNDAI MOTOR, KIA MOTORS **
Hyundai Motor saw its vehicle sales in France surge 47
percent in September year-on-year and affiliate Kia Motors
posted a 9 percent rise, bucking the market's 18 percent slump
and outgrowing rivals, according to data from France's CCFA auto
industry association released on Monday.

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Chris Gallagher)