Seoul shares seen lower; eyes on BOK, futures

SEOUL, June 11 (Reuters) - Seoul shares may open slightly
lower on Thursday after overnight losses on Wall Street, with
eyes likely to be on an interest rate decision by the South
Korean central bank.

"Trading could be volatile as both futures and options expiry
and the Bank of Korea's interest rate decision fall on today,"
said Kwak Joong-bo, a market analyst at Hana Daetoo Securities.

"A rate freeze is widely expected, so little surprise is
expected on the central bank front. But eyes will be on foreign
futures trading as there have been worries about selling," Kwak
added.

South Korea's central bank will probably keep interest rates
on hold again on Thursday, a Reuters poll shows, as Asia's
fourth-largest economy has quickly stabilised but faces a tough
road to full recovery. [ID:nSEO334074]

Meanwhile a continued hike in crude prices CLc1 may lift
energy issues such as SK Energy (096770.KS), but transporters
including Korean Air Line (003490.KS) may come under pressure.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished up
3.14 percent at 1,414.88 points on Wednesday.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2240 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 939.15 -0.35% -3.280
USD/JPY JPY= 98.13 -0.08% -0.080
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 3.9475 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD XAU= 955.4 0.18% 1.750
US CRUDE CLc1 71.39 0.08% 0.060
DOW JONES .DJI 8739.02 -0.27% -24.04
ASIA ADRS .BKAS 113.69 0.85% 0.96
-------------------------------------------------------------

MARKET SUMMARY
*Wall St falls as rate worries dent recovery hopes
[ID:nN10462992]
*Oil hits 7-month peak as US stockpiles wither [ID:nSP430902]
*Dollar extends gains versus euro after Beige Book
[ID:nN10453900]
*Oil tops $71, copper retreats from 8-month peak [ID:nLA690257]

STOCKS TO WATCH

CONSTRUCTION ISSUES

Major South Korean builders including Samsung Engineering
(028050.KS) and Daelim Industrial (000210.KS) have won a refinery
project worth $2.6 billion from Saudi Arabia, according to a
Maeil Business Newspaper report.

STEELMAKERS

Brazilian mining giant Vale (VALE5.SA) agreed on Wednesday to
cut 2009 iron ore prices by as much as 48.3 percent with Japanese
and South Korean steelmakers. [ID:nSPG002369]

(Reporting by Jungyoun Park; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)