Reuters: Financial Services and Real Estate: Seoul shares fall; Samsung Elec down for 5th session

Reuters: Financial Services and Real Estate Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Seoul shares fall; Samsung Elec down for 5th session May 9th 2012, 07:59 Wed May 9, 2012 3:59am EDT * Greek political impasse weighs on global risk assets * Shipbuilders plunge on worries over clients' finances * Samsung Elec posts 5-day skid after touching record high By Joonhee Yu SEOUL, May 9 (Reuters) - Seoul shares fell to a fresh three-month closing low on Wednesday, as political developments in Greece stoked fears that the debt-embattled country could reject its existing bailout plan and pull out of the euro zone. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 0.85 percent to close at 1,950.29 points, its lowest finish since January 30, but holding just above the closely-watched 120-day moving average of 1,944.79. "It's hard to quantify the effects of political risk in Europe, but the shift in focus from fundamentals to policy is signaling a prolonged spell of uncertainty, with shares seen drifting sideways for another month or two," said Park So-yeon, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities. Inconclusive election results in Greece on Sunday left Athens in political disarray, with left-wing leader Alexis Tsipras's attempts to form an anti-austerity coalition fuelling concerns that Greece could take an exit from the euro zone. Shipbuilders plunged, as analysts cited worries about financial constraints facing European clients that could lead to order delays and cancellations. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering sagged 6.1 percent while Samsung Heavy Industries fell 5.8 percent. Growth-sensitive, cyclical counters such as crude oil refiners and builders also underperformed. SK Innovation , South Korea's largest refiner, retreated 3.6 percent while Samsung Engineering slumped 6.7 percent. Profit-taking continued to take the shine off of Samsung Electronics post-earnings glow, with shares down 0.75 percent, posting a fifth-straight losing session, after touching a record high last week. Investors fleeing riskier assets flocked to defensive plays, with LG UPlus, South Korea's third-largest mobile service provider, up 2.4 percent and food-maker Crown Confectionary climbing 4.8 percent. Biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion also bucked the losing trend, soaring 5 percent after it said in an exchange filing that it would buy back 500,000 of its own shares worth 18.5 billion won ($16.3 million) on the open market. Foreign investors dumped shares for a sixth consecutive session, offloading a net 344.5 billion won worth on Wednesday and a total of 1.48 trillion won during the six-day stretch. South Korean equities, after chalking up a 12.7 percent gain for the year at their March high, have since seen momentum stalling on signs of a stalling U.S. economic recovery, slower growth in China, and uncertainty in the euro zone, shedding 5.2 percent. The KOSPI 200 index fell 0.89 percent while the junior KOSDAQ index shed 0.61 percent. Trading was choppy with 462.6 million shares exchanging hands on the main bourse, the lowest volume in three weeks. Declining shares outnumbered winners 536 to 295. The market will eye China's trade and inflation data for April, due to be released later this week. Move on day -0.85 percent 12-month high 2,192.83 8 July 2011 12-month low 1,644.11 26 Sept 2011 Change on yr +6.82 percent All-time high 2,231.47 27 April 2011 All-time low 93.10 6 January 1981 ($1 = 1135.6500 Korean won) (Editing by Jonathan Hopfner) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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