Seoul shares seen down on U.S. recession worries

SEOUL, April 14 (Reuters) - Seoul shares may fall on
Monday, led by exporters such as LG Electronics (066570.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and
LG Display (034220.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), after weak earnings from General
Electric and downbeat economic data pointed to a U.S.
recession.

General Electric Co (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which is viewed as an U.S.
economic bellwether because of the range of its business,
posted an unexpected 6 percent drop in the first-quarter
profit, adding to the latest sign the U.S. economy may be in a
recession. [ID:nN11436648]

The U.S. is South Korea's second-largest export market.

"Investors will become more cautious after the bleak
earnings and consumer data from the U.S., and ahead of a series
of earnings from Merrill Lynch (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) this
week and South Korean companies," said Choi Jai-sik, a market
analyst at Daishin Securities.

Financials, including Kookmin Bank (060000.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Shinhan
Financial Group (055550.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), may also fall on revived concerns
about their earnings, after the financial services arms of GE
reported a 20 percent profit fall citing "difficult" financial
services environment.

Meanwhile, U.S. consumer confidence fell to its lowest in
26 years in early April, diving deeper into recessionary
territory on heightened worries over inflation and
jobs.[ID:nN11437148]
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2243 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 1332.83 -2.04% -27.720
USD/JPY <JPY=> 101.34 0.07% 0.070
10-YR US TSY YLD <US10YT=RR> 3.4769 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD <XAU=> 919 -0.64% -5.900
US CRUDE CLc1 109.82 -0.29% -0.320
DOW JONES .DJI 12325.42 -2.04% -256.56
-------------------------------------------------------------

MARKETS SUMMARY *U.S. stocks slump on GE results, recession
fears [ID:nN11303219] *Oil steadies on weak dollar, demand
revisions [ID:nSP169323] *Yen rallies broadly as US stocks
plunge [ID:nN11452938] *Treasuries rally on grim consumer data,
GE [ID:nN11390617]

STOCKS TO WATCH

POSCO (005490.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

South Korean steel maker posted a forecast-beating
5-percent rise in quarterly profit on Friday, as higher steel
prices helped it offset rising costs and weak sales of
stainless steel products. [ID:nSEF000120]

KTF Co Ltd (032390.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

South Korea's second-biggest mobile service carrier said on
Friday it would buy back and cancel shares in the company worth
122.1 billion won ($125.2 million). [ID:nSEO220334]
($1=975.5 Won)
(Reporting by Park Jung-youn; Editing by Louise Heavens)