SEOUL, May 21 (Reuters) - Seoul shares may trade in a tight
range on Thursday after losses on Wall Street, with brokerages
set to gain from the partial lifting of a short-selling ban.
"Given the index's significant rises since early March, some
technical corrections are due, especially as there's a lack
compelling factors to drive further gains," said Han Beom-ho, a
market analyst at Goodmorning Shinhan Securities.
News that the U.S. Fed cut its 2009 forecast for gross
domestic product and raised its outlook for unemployment may
weigh on sentiment. [ID:nN20492043]
South Korea announcing that it would lift a temporary
short-selling ban next month, but only for non-financial stocks,
may draw higher turnover across markets, a positive for
brokerages such as Daewoo Securities (006800.KS). [ID:nSP150568]
"The removal of the ban will eventually lead to higher market
turnover...[it] should improve earnings momentum for brokers,"
Merrill Lynch said on its report dated May 20.
Cellphone makers including LG Electronics (066570.KS) may
come under pressure after news late on Tuesday that global
cellphone sales fell 8.6 percent in the first quarter of 2009 as
consumers reined in spending amid the recession, research firm
Gartner said late on Wednesday. [ID:nLK733707]
Reuters poll also showed that handset vendor's phone sales in
the April-June quarter will drop 14.5 percent from a year ago.
[ID:nLK616446]
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended
up 0.52 percent to 1,435.70 points on Wednesday, the highest
close since October, 1, 2008.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2243 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 903.47 -0.51% -4.660
USD/JPY JPY= 94.88 0.02% 0.020
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 3.1875 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD XAU= 937.35 0.03% 0.250
US CRUDE CLc1 61.53 -0.82% -0.510
DOW JONES .DJI 8422.04 -0.62% -52.81
ASIA ADRS .BKAS 108.40 0.28% 0.30
-------------------------------------------------------------
MARKETS SUMMARY
*Wall St retreats on Fed outlook, banks sell off [nN20535614]
*Oil rises more than 3 percent to hit 6-month high [nSIN233823]
*Fed mulled increasing Treasury buys-April minutes [nN20492043]
*Dollar falls on safe-haven weakness, Fed minutes [nN20525273]
STOCKS TO WATCH
KT Corp (030200.KS)
South Korea's dominant fixed-line and broadband firm plans to
launch a full-scale application store as early as end-2009.
[ID:nSEO259055]
PHARMACEUTICALS
The H1N1 influenza virus is making inroads into parts of Asia
after wreaking havoc in Mexico and the United
States.[ID:nSP91430] Shares in pharmaceutical companies that
manufacture vaccines, such as Green Cross (006280.KS) will be
eyed.
(Reporting by Jungyoun Park; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)
