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Seoul shares trim gains; carmakers, insurers down

Sun Oct 12, 2008 11:36pm EDT

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SEOUL, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Seoul shares pared gains on Monday, with carmakers such as Hyundai and insurers down, as optimism about central bankers' and government leaders' measures over the weekend to solve the financial crisis were seen priced into markets.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index was 1.42 percent higher at 1,259.06 points by 0315 GMT, after rising to as high as 1,291.89 at one point.

Shares in Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) lost 2.9 percent to 66,600 won, after it said on Sunday that the top South Korean carmaker was unlikely to meet its U.S. sales target this year as the credit crunch hit demand in the world's largest auto market. [ID:nSEO137673]

Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance (000810.KS), the country's No. 1 non-life insurance firm, declined 5.6 percent to 194,500 won, with the insurance subindex .KS54 down 3.5 percent.

The Financial Services Commission said in a statement that it planned to allow insurance-focused holding companies to control non-financial services firms as subsidiaries. [ID:nSEU000070]

(Reporting by Kim Yeon-hee; Editing by Keiron Henderson)



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