Seoul share rally pauses, financials down

(Updates to add KOSPI index)

SEOUL, April 4 (Reuters) - Seoul stocks traded flat on Friday
after a run of gains which has lifted the main KOSPI by some four
percent this week, with investors remaining cautious ahead of key
U.S. jobs data due after the South Korean close.

Financials such as Kookmin Bank 060000.KS and Woori Finance
Holdings (053000.KS) came under pressure, despite a report on
Thursday that Merrill Lynch & Co MER.N does not need to raise
more capital, which lifted Wall Street financials overnight.

By 0212 GMT the main KOSPI index was down 0.06
percent to 1,762.53 points, pausing after ending on Thursday at a
fresh 11-week closing high.

"Banks made very steep gains this week without solid
fundamentals to sustain the rally, and we are seeing some profit-
taking activities," said J.P. Hong, an analyst at Goodmorning
Shinhan Securities.

Kookmin fell 0.93 percent to 63,900 won after gaining more
than 16 percent this week. Woori Finance Holdings (053000.KS)
inched down 0.26 percent to 19,450 won after advancing nearly 14
percent during four consecutive gains sessions this week.

Food manufacturers such as Halim (024660.KQ) and Maniker
(027740.KS) fell after confirmation that a highly virulent
strain of bird flu had been found at a farm in South Korea, on
worries local consumers would shun chicken products.

Halim fell 0.96 percent to 2070 won and Maniker fell 1.41
percent to 700 won.

But makers of fishery products rose on expectations that
consumers will turn to fish products as an alternative to
chickens. Oyang Fisheries (006090.KS) rose 7.32 percent to 15,400
won and Dongwon Fisheries Co. Ltd (030720.KS) gained 4.6 percent
to 6,600 won.

Carmakers such as Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) and Kia Motors
(000270.KS) fell after a report that U.S. light vehicle sales
will begin a slow and steady recovery in 2009 [ID:nN03189427].
The forecast comes as Hyundai management expressed worries this
week over demand in the United States amid higher fuel prices.

Hyundai fell 2.73 percent to 78,400 won and Kia declined 3.04
percent to 11,150 won.

Some electronics shares such as Samsung Electronics
(005930.KS) and Hynix Semiconductor (000660.KS) fell on lingering
concerns about U.S. slowdown, after data showed U.S. service
sector contracted for a third straight month in March.
[ID:nN03383793]

Samsung fell 0.3 percent to 660,000 won and Hynix dropped
1.77 percent 27,750 won.

"Investors are cautious today after the shares' latest gains,
and as they wait for U.S. job data to come out," said Kim
Young-gak, a market analyst at Hyundai Securities.

"If the data come out worse than the market consensus, it
will highlight the possibility of U.S. recession, which investors
are worries may be the case," he added.

But LG Electronics (066570.KS) rose above their record high
close on Thursday, on a continued rosy earnings outlook. LG
Electronics went up 0.75 percent to 135,500 won.

(Reporting by Park Jung-youn; Editing by Keiron Henderson)