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Friday March 23, 7:40 AM Seoul shares seen hit by oil surge, exporters spared SEOUL, March 23 (Reuters) - South Korean shares are set to open lower on Friday as a surge in oil prices could hit stocks sensitive to energy costs such as Korean Air, although a rally in the dollar could help some exporters such as Hyundai Motor. Trading was expected to be subdued after Wall Street barely budged as investors second-guessed expectations that the Federal Reserve's next policy move would be an interest rate cut. Global markets had gained on Thursday as investors had interpreted the Fed's statement following its policy meeting as signalling a move towards a possible rate cut. "The surge in oil prices is going to pose a burden today," said Choo Hee-yeop, deputy general manager of asset management strategy at Korea Investment and Securities. "The stronger dollar could be a positive factor, however, the most important part will be how the won trades against the Japanese yen," he added. U.S. crude futures jumped 4 percent to more than $62 a barrel on Thursday as a fall in U.S. gasoline stocks fueled concerns of tight supplies ahead of the summer driving season in the world's top consumer. Rising oil prices can have a particularly negative effect on South Korea, which must import all of its oil needs, hurting firms such as carrier Korean Air Co. and power provider Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) . Investors could also worry about energy-cost sensitive firms after the dollar rallied overnight, as a weaker South Korean won can increase the cost of importing oil. But exporters such as auto maker Hyundai Motor Co. could gain should the domestic currency weaken, especially against the Japanese currency. South Korea and Japan are key rivals in sectors such as automobiles and technology. STOCKS TO WATCH - SK Corp. The country's biggest oil refiner said on Friday it will invest 552.2 billion won ($588.9 million) in Peru LNG Co. to acquire a 30 percent stake by 2011. ID:nSEO148302] - Mobile phone makers U.S. government agencies warned against a ban on imports of cell phones that contain chips made by Qualcomm Inc. , amid a patent dispute between the U.S. chip maker and rival Broadcom Corp. [ID:nN22447488] Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics Inc. both produce mobile phones containing Qualcomm chips. - Korea Zinc Metals futures rallied overnight on data suggesting strong Chinese demand and a change to more neutral language in the Fed's latest policy communique on U.S. interest rates. Zinc rose 2.4 percent to $3,195 overnight. [ID:nN22574027] - Ssangyong Corp. The trading firm said it expected operating profit in 2007 of 17.1 billion won, up 21.3 percent from 14.1 billion won last year. Sales are expected to reach 1.3 trillion won, up 36 percent from 2006. - Kookmin Bank The country's biggest lender is aiming to boost corporate services and investment banking to balance its retail-heavy business and increase fee income, a Kookmin senior executive told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. [ID:nSEO71767] PREVIOUS CLOSE The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.39 percent to end at 1,448.53 points. The June KOSPI 200 futures index rose 1.60 points to 188.60, while the underlying KOSPI 200 spot index gained 0.91 point to 187.15. South Korea's junior and tech heavy Kosdaq market advanced 0.30 percent to finish at 645.77. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.11 percent to 12,461.14, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 0.17 percent to end at 2,451.74.