(Updates to mid-morning)
SEOUL, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Seoul shares fell 0.3 percent on
Friday, as lenders such as Kookmin Bank fell on worries about
more write-downs on subprime mortgages and flat-panel makers
slipped on worries over Taiwan's capacity investment plans.
But Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co (000720.KS) and
other builders jumped on expectations of expansionary policies
ahead of the Dec. 19 presidential election, with polls indicating
former Hyundai CEO and pro-business conservative Lee Myung-bak as
the clear front-runner.
"Despite falls in the previous session, investors are not
still convinced about the market's outlook for next year due to
credit worries," said Rho Y.S., a strategist at Hyundai
Securities.
"Trading will be more focused on sectors, with some
industries with less overseas exposure faring better."
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.3
percent to 1,910.12 points as of 0156 GMT.
Financials declined, tracking global peers after Lehman
Brothers Holdings Inc LEH.N, the fourth-largest U.S. investment
bank and the first to report fourth-quarter earnings, said profit
declined 11 percent and wrote down $2.2 billion on mortgages.
[ID:nN13206966]
Kookmin Bank 060000.KS, South Korea's top lender, fell 1.28
percent to 69,200 won, and fourth-ranked Hana Financial Group
(086790.KS) declined 1.3 percent to 49,350 won.
Makers of liquid crystal display (LCD) makers such as
LG.Philips LCD Co Ltd (034220.KS) also dropped, as analysts
fretted that moves by Taiwan's LCD firms to step up investment in
next-generation panel plants would dent an ongoing recovery in
panel prices.
LG.Philips LCD lost 4.11 percent to 47,850 won, and Samsung
Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) fell 1.69 percent to 581,000 won.
But Hyundai Engineering & Construction jumped 4.63 percent to
88,100 won and Daewoo Engineering Construction (047040.KS) also
added 5.12 percent, with the widely expected election of
conservative Lee Myung-bak seen boosting construction projects,
especially as he has pledged to build a canal across the nation.
(Reporting by Kim Soyoung; Editing by Sei Chong)
