Seoul shares slip

Seoul shares fell on Wednesday led by steelmakers such as POSCO after it agreed with suppliers to pay more for coking coal, but analysts said the market's second quarter outlook was rosy. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished down 0.43 percent at 1,692.85 points, posting a gain of 0.6 percent for the January-March period.
Analysts said market participants were treading cautiously ahead of key US job and manufacturing data later this week. "Shares are taking a breather as they have risen substantially in recent sessions, and as investors are awaiting key US economic data," said Lee Kyoung-su, a market analyst at Taurus Investment & Securities.
But the outlook for the second quarter was positive. "We think there is an upside of around 15 percent from the KOSPI's current level in the second quarter as we are seeing fresh signs that US consumer sentiment is improving faster than expected," said Lawrence Kim, a market analyst at Woori Investment & Securities.
He added that foreign buying of stocks would likely continue amid expectations for the country's upgrade to developed market status by global index compiler MSCI. Foreign investors were buyers of a net 128 billion won ($113.2 million) worth of stocks, purchasing for a 14th session, the longest such streak since late September 2009. The 90-day relative strength index read 55, well below the oversold territory mark of 70, but the main index was significantly above its 90-day moving average of around 1,640 points.
Key technology issues outperformed, as the memory chip market outlook remained strong. Samsung Electronics rose 0.49 percent after a local media report the world's No 1 memory chip maker was expected to post a more than 4 trillion won ($3.5 billion) operating profit from its semiconductor business in the first half.
Hynix Semiconductor rose 1.14 percent. But shares in Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co Ltd fell 3.46 percent, with analysts attributing the drop to Samsung Life's upcoming IPO. "There had been market talk that Samsung Life's IPO pricing would come out lower than previously estimated...and the thought is, if Samsung Life's pricing is attractive, its shares may be a better pick," said Lee Chul-ho, a market analyst at Korea Investment & Securities.
Samsung Life plans to offer 44.4 million existing shares at between 90,000 won and 115,000 won per share, it said in a filing to financial regulators after the market close, confirming an earlier Reuters story. POSCO fell 1.68 percent after the world's No 4 steelmaker agreed to pay $200 per tonne for its April-June hard coking coal imports with major suppliers, a 55 percent rise from last year's benchmark prices.
Hyundai Steel, South Korea's No 2 steelmaker, slipped 1.38 percent. Institutions sold a net 86.7 billion won worth of stocks and retail investors offloaded a net 28 billion won worths. Decliners outnumbered advancers 434 to 340, with 95 issues ending flat.
Trading volume stood at 322.7 million shares worth 4.8 trillion won, compared with 314.4 million shares worth 4.6 trillion won in the previous session. The KOSPI 200 June futures index ended down 0.35 points at 222.65, and the KOSPI 200 spot index lost 0.90 points at 221.58. The junior Kosdaq market ended 0.45 percent lower to close at 515.74.