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Wednesday August 22, 7:25 AMSeoul shares seen flat, but KEPCO, techs may gainSEOUL, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Seoul shares could trade flat on Wednesday, after gaining in the previous two sessions, as hopes the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates are seen tempered by continued caution about global credit markets.But fuel-dependent shares such as power provider Korea Electric Power Corp could gain after oil futures dropped overnight on easing concerns that a powerful storm would disrupt Mexican and U.S. oil operations. Technology shares such as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd believed to supply chips to Apple Inc could also gain after UBS analysts said iPhone sales could top the brokerage's estimates and added demand for its desktop and notebook computers was strong. [ID:nN21387623] "Major financial bodies around the world are trying to calm fears about the fallout from the U.S. subprime sector, but it's not over yet and caution remains," said Choo Hee-yeop, deputy general manager of asset management strategy at Korea Investment and Securities. Some U.S. indices rose overnight after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signalled a willingness to consider an early cut in U.S. interest rates to quell market unrest, according to a key U.S. lawmaker who met with the central bank head. [ID:nL21647991] and [ID:nN21367773] The issue is also important for investors in South Korea, as the United States is the country's second-biggest export market, and firms such as Hyundai Motor Co would suffer should tighter global credit slow down economic growth there. Separately, finance chiefs from the world's three biggest economies sought on Tuesday to keep a lid on global market jitters. [ID:nL21220965] But plenty of worries are likely to remain, with a Fed official warning on Tuesday a U.S. rate change due to market turmoil would only be warranted if it hurts the inflation or growth outlook. [ID:nN21371518] The benchmark KOSPI is still down 13.9 percent since a record 2,015.48 points on July 26, though up 21 percent for the year. Foreign investors have been heavy sellers, marking on Tuesday their 25th session of net sales in the past 26 sessions, which has brought the amount sold during that period to a net $12 billion. PREVIOUS CLOSE The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.28 percent to end at 1,736.18 points. The September KOSPI 200 futures index fell 0.80 point to 219.60, but the underlying KOSPI 200 spot index gained 0.46 point to 220.18. The junior and tech-heavy Kosdaq market rose 0.87 percent to finish at 727.88. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.23 percent to 13,090.86 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite edged up 0.51 percent to end at 2,521.30. |
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