South Korea's stock market is expected to go through a short-term correction before attempting to rise again in this week, dealers said on Friday. Sentiment would be undermined by overseas jitters, a foreign sell-off and uncertainties over upcoming economic data, said Samsung Securities analyst You Seung-Min. "Foreigners have been net sellers for the past three consecutive days, apparently locking in on profits following the recent rally," he said.
However, shipbuilding shares would remain strong on solid earnings unless the won appreciated further, he said, adding: "Shipbuilding and IT sectors appear to be safe bets."
Local shares gained last Friday on hopes that companies such as LG Philips LCD and LG Electronics would join Samsung Electronics in expressing an optimistic outlook when they announce quarterly results this week.
On Monday, Samsung Electronics had risen to a three-month high after it reported better-than-expected 2004 earnings and said demand for its products would improve.
Korea Investment Securities analyst Shin Dong-Seong remained upbeat saying strong underlying sentiment may eventually push the index to as high as 940 points.
For the week to January 21, the composite index gained 14.51 points or 1.5 percent to 919.61 on average daily volume of 430 million shares worth 2.54 trillion won (2.45 billion dollars).