Seoul shares gain

Seoul shares closed higher on Monday led by exporters such as LG Electronics, helped by weakness in the won currency, but steelmakers' falls on outlook worries cut earlier gains. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed up 0.79 percent at 1,581.09 points, but down from the session's high of 1,597.31 points.
"US shares' gains on easier oil also sent South Korean shares higher today," said Park Hae-sung, a market analyst at LIG Investment & Securities. Institutions were the main buyers in the market, net-buying 300 billion won ($290.2 million) worth of stocks listed on the main index. Foreigners were net sellers of 122 billion won.
Exporters such as LG Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor led the rally as a weaker South Korean currency should render South Korean goods more price-competitive in the US dollar terms, while recent falls in oil prices also helped ease inflation pressure and pointed to improvements in consumer sentiment. Hynix rose 5.31 percent to 23,800 won and LG Elec went up 3.96 percent to 118,000 won.
Other tech exporters such as LG Display and Samsung Electronics also rallied, with LG Display gaining 3.81 percent to 30,000 won and Samsung Elec rising 2.09 percent to 585,000 won. Carmakers also advanced, with Hyundai Motor gaining 2.39 percent to 72,900 won and Kia Motors closing 3.14 percent higher at 13,150 won. However steelmakers fell across the board on deepening worries that slowing global economies would dent demand for steel products.
POSCO lost 3.34 percent to 477,000 won and Hyundai Steel fell 4.83 percent to 57,100 won. Dongkuk Steel, a medium-sized steelmaker, dropped 6.82 percent to 41,000 won. Kookmin rose 1.34 percent to 60,500 won and Shinhan Financial Group gained 1.51 percent to 50,300 won. Shipbuilders rebounded from recent losses, with Hyundai Heavy Industries closing 1.13 percent higher at 268,500 won and Samsung Heavy Industries ending up 1.88 percent to 35,150 won.
Shares in STX Pan Ocean closed 2.45 percent higher at 1,885 won after the shipping firm reported a 63.1 percent jump in quarterly net profit from a year ago. Foreign investors sold a net 122 billion won worth of shares, and local institutions bought a net 300 billion won of shares on the main board. Local retail investors offloaded a net 205 billion won. Advancers outnumbered decliners by 481 to 323, with 72 titles ending flat.
Trade volume stood at 251 million shares worth 4.3 trillion won, compared with 215 million shares worth 3.6 trillion won on Friday. The KOSPI 200 September futures index rose 1.65 points to 202.95 and the KOSPI 200 spot index gained 1.66 points to 202.42. The junior Kosdaq market went up 0.3 percent to 527.12.