Korea Hot Stocks-Insurers, GS Holdings

SEOUL, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Stocks on the move on Wednesday include:

As of 0414 GMT, the main KOSPI was down 0.27 percent at 1,444.15 points.

The index opened 0.37 percent higher at 1,453.40 points.

**INSURERS GAIN ON EARNINGS OUTLOOK**

Shares in insurers gained after they posted improved monthly earnings on Tuesday.

Sector leader Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co Ltd (000810.KS) said on Tuesday that August net profit jumped 56.1 percent to 55.4 billion won ($46.51 million) from a year ago.

Hyundai Marine & Fire (001450.KS) posted a 65 percent rise in net profit to 11.25 billion won in August.

"Loss ratios will likely remain steady at a low level for a while, even though insurers slashed their auto insurance premiums in August," Hyundai Securities said in a report on the sector.

Samsung Fire advanced 4.13 percent to 214,500 won, and Hyundai Marine & Fire climbed 4.55 percent to 19,550 won. Shares in Dongbu Insurance (005830.KS) gained 4.11 percent to 27,850 won.

0425 GMT

**GS HOLDINGS HIT BY WEAK WON**

Shares in GS Holdings (078930.KS), the holding company of GS Caltex, South Korea's No.2 oil refiner, tumbled on concerns that a weakening won KRW= would dent its third-quarter earnings.

"GS Holdings is expected to post large losses over its foreign currency debt of 300 billion won due to the rapidly weakening won," said Shin Eun-joo, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities.

"A fall in refining margins and oil prices and the won are weighing on GS," said Lee Hee-cheol, an analyst at HI Investment & Securities.

Shares in GS Holdings fell 7.79 percent to 27,800 won.

0228 GMT (Reporting by Park Ju-min; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)