Seoul shares plunge

Seoul stocks closed 2.6 percent lower on Tuesday, as worse-than-expected quarterly earnings from LG.Philips LCD raised concerns about slowing corporate profits and sparked a selloff in the technology sector.
Shares in LG Philips LCD Co Ltd led the decline, plunging 10.42 percent to end at 32,250 won. The world's No 2 LCD maker reported on Monday a 15 percent fall in profits and said a global supply surplus could push LCD prices down by a further third.
"The surprisingly bad results from LG Philips is leading investors to brace for even more bad news as we head into the corporate earnings season," said Oh Hyun-seok, an analyst at Samsung Securities.
"With Samsung Electronics results right around the corner, investors don't want to take chances," added Oh.
Analysts said the market ignored data released earlier in the day showing South Korean consumer sentiment rebounded in September, snapping four consecutive months of declines.
The benchmark Korea Composite Price Index (KOSPI) tumbled 2.61 percent to end at 858.09.
Shares in Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, the world's largest maker of memory chips, slumped 4.39 percent to 446,000 won ahead of its results announcement on Friday.
Analysts have widely predicted sharp drops in Samsung's earnings. Merrill Lynch lowered the chip maker's third-quarter operating profit estimates to 2.73 trillion won ($2.38 billion) from its prior 2.82 trillion won forecast.
Shares in LG Electronics Inc fell 5.78 percent to end at 62,000 won, while Hynix Semiconductor Inc dropped 7.29 percent to 13,350 won.
Options-linked selling also emerged to pull the market lower, as investors steered clear of risky stock purchases ahead of the expiry of derivatives on Thursday, analysts said.
Auto making shares also fell, with top local auto maker Hyundai Motor Co shedding 3.72 percent to 56,900 won and affiliate Kia Motors ending down 6 percent at 10,850 won.
Shares in POSCO Co Ltd ended flat at 183,000 won.
Among a short list of gainers, LG Card Co Ltd surged by its daily limit of 15 percent to 18,400 won after the issuer said it swung to a recurring profit in September for the first time in two years.
Trade volume reached 373 million shares worth 3 trillion won compared to 370 million shares worth 2.38 trillion won on Monday. Losers edged out gainers by 515 to 213 with 73 titles ending flat. Foreign investors sold a net of 163.9 billion won worth.
The December KOSPI 200 futures index shed 3.70 points to 110.35 and the underlying KOSPI 200 spot index lost 3.35 points to 110.47. The over-the-counter Kosdaq lost 1.29 percent to finish at 369.11.