Seoul shares seen edging higher on steady U.S. data

SEOUL, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Seoul shares are likely to edge
higher on Monday, tracking Friday's Wall Street gains on U.S.
data showing a steady albeit slow recovery in the world's
largest economy.
"U.S. services sector and labour market data has dispelled
some concerns on ongoing economic uncertainties, leaving intact
both fundamental views of a slow recovery in the U.S. economy
plus continued quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve," said
Lee Sang-jae, chief economist at Hyundai Securities.
World share markets rose on Friday and the S&P 500 index
marked its highest close in five years after data showed the
U.S. services sector grew at its fastest clip in 10 months in
December.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed
down 0.4 percent at 2,011.94 points, falling for the second
straight day but still holding on to 9-month highs.

------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2242 GMT ----------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 1466.47 0.49% 7.100
USD/JPY 88.31 0.17% 0.150
10-YR US TSY YLD 1.9026 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD 1655.9 0.01% 0.110
US CRUDE 93.09 0.18% 0.170
DOW JONES 13435.21 0.33% 43.85
ASIA ADRS 135.28 0.15% 0.20
-------------------------------------------------------------
>S&P 500 finishes at 5-year high on economic data
>USyields hover near 8-mnth high on Fed policy fears
>Dollar scales nearly 2-1/2 year peak vs yen;euro up
>Brent crude falls,demand concerns offset US jobs

---STOCKS TO WATCH---

**LG GROUP AFFILIATES**
LG Group, South Korea's fourth biggest business
conglomerate, plans to raise its investment to a record 20
trillion won ($18.8 billion) this year, it said on Sunday, a
19.1 percent increase from its 2012 spending.
The group includes some 40 subsidiaries, including
technology giant LG Electronics Inc, flat panel
heavyweight LG Display Co Ltd, mobile service
provider LG Uplus Corp, chemicals firm LG Chem Ltd
and holding company LG Corp.

**LG INTERNATIONAL **
LG International Corp said in a regulatory filing on late
Friday it entered into a joint develop agreement with the Oman
Oil Company to develop a petrochemical plant in Sohar, Oman, and
is in the process of choosing a builder and reviewing details
before deciding whether to finalise the deal.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Eric Meijer)