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Thursday March 22, 7:31 AMSeoul shares may gain, but handset makers seen hitSEOUL, March 22 (Reuters) - Seoul shares could gain on Thursday with exporters such as Hyundai Motor boosted after the Federal Reserve was seen as signalling its next move may be to cut interest rates in South Korea's second-biggest export market.But rises may be limited, with analysts seeing strong technical resistance for the benchmark KOSPI at 1,450 points, giving little upside to an index that ended at 1,442.85 on Wednesday even though the Feb. 22 record high of 1,471.04 is in sight. Mobile phone makers such as LG Electronics Inc. could fall after Motorola Inc. warned on Wednesday it will post a first-quarter loss and cut its revenue forecast far below expectations due to weak mobile phone sales. [ID:nN21313957] "The positive implications of a Fed rate cut could be already reflected. The KOSPI has gained already quite a bit and it may be now be stuck in a boxed range," said Kim Joong-hyun, an analyst at Goodmorning Shinhan Securities. "Companies are reporting earnings soon, and there are worries earnings from the major companies may not be so positive in the first quarter," he added. The KOSPI has gained 1.8 percent so far this month to within range of the record high, despite what has been a turbulent month, with global markets first hit by a slump in Chinese stocks and later by worries about the U.S. housing sector. Exporters such as Hyundai Motor Co. , the country's biggest auto maker, could lead gainers on Thursday after Wall Street rallied overnight when the Fed left out a reference to the possibility of taking rates higher in its statement, a move seen as loosening its hitherto hawkish stance. [ID:nN21416941] The Fed left rates unchanged, as expected, at a meeting of its Federal Open Markets Committee. However, investors will also be mindful of the South Korean won, after the dollar weakened overnight on the news about the U.S. central bank. The won hit on Wednesday a month high against the dollar on worries about whether China would stop building up its massive foreign exchange reserves. STOCKS TO WATCH - Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. The world's biggest shipbuilder said on Wednesday its sales in February rose 19.5 percent to 1.13 trillion won from a year earlier, although that was down 8.2 percent from January. Hyundai got orders worth $1.3 billion won last month, up 88.9 percent from the same month in 2005, and 48.4 percent higher than in January. - Woori Financial Group Woori Bank, a main unit of the country's second-biggest financial services provider, said on Wednesday it has picked the chief executive of LG Card Co. Ltd. as its new head. [ID:nSEO141739] PREVIOUS CLOSE The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 0.09 percent to end at 1,442.85 points. The June KOSPI 200 futures index fell 0.95 point to 187.00, while the underlying KOSPI 200 spot index declined 0.10 point to 186.24. The technology-heavy Kosdaq market fell 0.24 percent to 643.82. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.3 percent to 12,447.52, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 1.98 percent to end at 2,445.92. |
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