Seoul stocks rise

Seoul shares rose on Monday after US stocks wrapped up their best trading week in three months on Friday, but gains were capped as institutions were seen cashing in on recent gains near a key chart level. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.62 percent to close at 2,047.00 points.
The main board has managed to breach the 2,050 point threshold for four straight sessions, but also failed to close above it on all those occasions. "The 2,050 level is providing stiff resistance and although foreign investors have continually picked up shares in recent sessions, institutions have countered that by selling, over concerns that the market may be overheating," said Bookook Securities analyst Eom Tae-woong.
"Although we are entering a much-anticipated earnings period, first-quarter expectations have been largely priced into shares and investors will be looking to US housing data for further momentum," he added. Offshore investors picked up a net 34.6 billion won ($30.7 million) worth of shares, but institutions reversed a brief spell of early buying to offload a net 112.3 billion won worth.
Tech giant Samsung Electronics set another all-time closing high on Monday, fuelled by mounting expectations of robust first quarter results backed by smartphone sales, closing up 1.78 percent. Builders were star performers, with analysts citing expectations of offshore construction orders, particularly from the Middle East. GS Construction climbed 4.39 percent while Daelim Industrial soared 6.78 percent.
Financials lent support with Woori Finance Holdings closing 1.87 percent higher, extending its winning streak to five straight sessions following last Monday's announcement that the government was restarting its proposed $4.9 billion sale. "Financials are still very much in the process of recouping losses from the stock market plunge last August, having gained little compared to other sectors during the recent rally. There is still a lot headroom left between current prices and the price-to-book ratio of 0.9 seen prior to last August," said Baek Woon, an analyst at Solomon Investment & Securities.