SEOUL Oct 12 (Reuters) - Seoul shares reversed earlier
falls to end up on Wednesday, posting a fifth consecutive
session of gains supported by solid rises in automakers and
brokerages including Hyundai Motor and Woori
Investment & Securities .Despite Slovakia blocking a European bailout fund, the
market largely viewed that as a minor setback, with analysts
saying that overall rescue efforts in the troubled euro zone
were not likely to be thwarted.”Policy expectation is still brewing and I do not think
anyone seriously believes that rescue actions would be stalled
because of Slovakia,” said Park Suk-hyun, a market analyst at
KTB Securities.The parliament of tiny Slovakia rejected the expansion of a
bailout fund to rescue the euro zone from its debt crisis on
Tuesday, but international lenders said they were likely to
grant a loan to Greece next month, buying time for a broader
response.Foreign investors were buyers of a net 10.4 billion Korean
won ($8.9 million) worth of stocks. Institutions purchased a net
218.2 billion won worth, buying for a fifth consecutive session.The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended
up 0.81 percent at 1,809.50 points.Automakers and auto parts manufacturers outperformed amid
expectations for the approval of a free trade agreement with the
United States.A U.S. Senate panel on Tuesday backed long-delayed trade
pacts with South Korea, Colombia and Panama, paving the way for
final approval.Hyundai Motor added 1.47 percent and Hyundai
Mobis rallied 4.33 percent.Substantial gains in brokerages gave the market further
support.Shares in Woori Investment & Securities ended up 5.91
percent and Samsung Securities rose 4.14 percent.Shares in SK Securities jumped 4.42 percent
after the Korea Exchange asked the brokerage to clarify rumours
top shareholder SK Networks was looking to sell its
22.7 percent stake in the firm.”Shares reacted positively over an expectation of a
potential sales premium,” said Chung Bo-seung, an analyst at
Hanwha Securities.An SK Securities spokesman contacted by Reuters dismissed
the talk as “groundless.”Shares in talent agency SM Entertainment Co Ltd
spiked 9.72 percent on local media reports that its star group
Girls Generation planned to debut in the United States.SM Entertainment could not be reached for a confirmation.Shares in firms with interests in North Korea were buoyed
after South Korea said on Tuesday it would allow 120 firms to
restart building a joint industrial park in the
North.Apparel manufacturer Shinwon Corp , which has
production units in North Korea, climbed 1.27 percent.But retailers came under pressure after discouraging job
data. South Korea created the smallest number of jobs in a year
in September, nudging the unemployment rate higher off a
three-year low and adding to signs of a slowdown in Asia’s
fourth-largest economy.Shares in Lotte Shopping Co Ltd , the country’s
top retailer in terms of market value, declined 2.16 percent.Elsewhere, airlines and tour issues were hurt as the local
won currency turned weak.A weaker won dampens demand for overseas tours and makes the
cost of importing jet fuel more costly.Shares in Korean Air Line fell 1.77 percent and
Hana Tour finished flat.The KOSPI 200 spot index gained 0.79 percent to
236.66 points and the junior Kosdaq market rose 1.87
percent to 467.65 points.Move on day +0.81 percent12-month high 2,231.47 27 April 201112-month low 1,644.11 26 September 2011Change on yr -11.77 percentAll-time high 2,231.47 27 April 2011All-time low 93.10 6 January 1981
($1 = 1164.550 Korean Won)
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