Seoul shares seen rising on OPEC oil price outlook

SEOUL, March 24 (Reuters) - Seoul shares are likely to gain
on Monday, led by transportation and manufacturing shares,
after OPEC's chief said he expected steady oil prices for the
rest of 2008, easing concerns about higher energy costs.

Air carriers such as Korean Air Line (003490.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Asiana
Air 020560.KQ were seen gaining on prospects of stable crude
prices. Manufacturers such as LG Electronics (066570.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and
Hyundai Motor (005380.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) may also rise on hopes that softer
energy prices will help boost consumer demand for goods.

"Falling commodity prices are good news to the South Korean
market since we rely heavily on imported energy and raw
materials," said Yang Kyeung-shik, a market strategist at Hana
Daetoo Securities.

"Lower commodity prices will boost firms' profitability in
both costs and consumer demand."

Petroleum prices will range between $80 and $110 per barrel
for the rest of 2008, OPEC President Chakib Khelil said on
Saturday. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest exporter, also said
over the weekend it was working to expand its oil production
and refinery capacity in order to maintain world economic
growth.

U.S. crude futures prices CLc1 fell nearly $1 to less
than $101 per barrel on Monday. [ID:SYD247417]
-------------------- MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2230 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 1329.51 2.39% 31.090
USD/JPY <JPY=> 99.53 0.2% 0.200
10-YR US TSY YLD <US10YT=RR> 3.341 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD <XAU=> 915.2 -0.42% -3.900
US CRUDE CLc1 101.04 -0.79% -0.800
DOW JONES .DJI 12361.32 2.16% 261.66
------------------------------------------------------------

MARKETS SUMMARY
*Saudi Arabia says working to ensure oil supply
[ID:nL2373685]
*BoE, Fed deny mortgage security buyout plan [nL22462401]
*OPEC chief says sees oil at $80-$110 for rest of 08
[ID:nL22633054]
*SKorea c.bank eases rollover ban on yen borrowers
[ID:nSEO350679]

STOCKS TO WATCH

Hyundai Engineering & Construction (000720.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

South Korea's top builder said on Sunday it had won a
combined $301 million in orders to build substations and power
cables in Qatar.[ID:SEO40225]

Samsung Electronics (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

The world's second-largest mobile phone maker said late on
Friday it would set up a mobile phone plant in Vietnam,
confirming an earlier comment from a Vietnamese official.

Samsung said in a filing to the Korea Exchange that it
would initially invest $50 million in the plant.
[ID:SEL000019]
(Reporting by Park Jung-youn; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)