Seoul shares seen edging higher despite currency woes

SEOUL, Oct 31 (Reuters) - South Korean shares are likely to
tick slightly higher on Wednesday, with investors looking to
higher dividend-paying sectors as concern about the
strengthening currency undermines exporters.
Seoul shares rose modestly on Tuesday while U.S. markets
remained closed for the second day over Hurricane Sandy.

The media and telecoms sector, whose companies
traditionally pay out higher dividends than other sectors, has
risen 15.6 percent in the past three months.
"The won is trading below the 1,100-mark against the dollar,
which is weighing on investor sentiment," said Cho Sung-joon, an
analyst at NH Investments & Securities, adding that he expected
the won to continue to strengthen in the absence of government
intervention.
A stronger won eats away at the earnings by exporters, the
backbone of the South Korean economy. The won has risen 5
percent against the dollar this year, and hit a near 14-month
high on Tuesday despite a plan by South Korea to inspect banks'
foreign exchange trading.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose
0.4 percent to close at 1,899.58 points on Tuesday, recovering
from the seven-week lows hit on Friday.

------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 22:28 GMT-------------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 0.00 0% 0.000
USD/JPY 79.59 -0.04% -0.030
10-YR US TSY YLD 1.721 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD $1,710.20 0.08% 1.320
US CRUDE $85.77 0.11% 0.090
DOW JONES 13107.21 0.00% 0.00
ASIA ADRS 0.00 0.00% 0.00
-------------------------------------------------------------
>Wall St closed for 2nd day, to reopen on Wednesday
>Prices gain in safety buying before hurricane
>Italy debt sale lifts euro, yen gains vs dollar
>US gasoline falls as Sandy hits demand

---STOCKS TO WATCH---
**HYUNDAI MOBIS **
Moody's upgraded Hyundai Mobis after markets closed on
Tuesday. This follows the credit rating agency's upgrades of
automakers Hyundai Motor and sibling Kia Motors
. Auto shares rallied on Tuesday, recovering from the
slide caused by Kia's disappointing third quarter earnings.

**KOREA ZINC **
Korea Zinc announced third quarter earnings of 140 billion
won ($128.27 million), down a 49 percent on a year earlier.

**KOREA AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES **
Aircraft maker Korea Aerospace Industries said on Tuesday
that it has been selected as the preferred bidder to participate
in the development of military unmanned surveillance planes.
Shares of the company recouped early losses to close 4.7 percent
higher.
($1 = 1091.4750 Korean won)

(Reporting By Somang Yang; Editing by Richard Pullin)