Thursday, March 28, 2013

Seoul shares flat as extra budget plan offsets euro zone concern




Thu Mar 28, 2013 3:48am EDT



* S.Korea plans to unveil extra budget in coming weeks


* Local institutions’ net buying support index


SEOUL, March 28 (Reuters) – South Korean shares ended unchanged after the government’s plan for additional budget spending helped offset concerns over the euro zone that dogged most Asian stock markets on Thursday.


The government said it will unveil a series of stimulus measures over coming weeks, including a proposal for a supplementary budget bill which local media and analysts have said would amount to around 10 trillion won ($ 9 billion).


The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,993.52 points, nearly unchanged from the previous day’s close at 1,993.44 points but going on to a four-session winning streak.


“In the last few days, the KOSPI hasn’t dropped as much as other indexes, partly due to expectations for the extra budget spending plans supporting local shares despite foreign investors’ selloffs,” said Lim Dong-rak, an analyst at Hanyang Securities.


Blue-chips were mixed, with heavyweight Samsung Electronics ticking up 0.4 percent while automaker Hyundai Motor edged down 0.2 percent.


Investors favoured some defensives, with utilities gaining for a second session. Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) rose 1.3 percent while Korea Gas Corp climbed 1.8 percent.


Local institutions purchased a net 187.1 billion won worth of KOSPI shares, supporting the index against foreign investors selling a net 148.4 billion won worth of shares.


Gainers outnumbered decliners 411 to 387.


The KOSPI 200 benchmark of core stocks closed flat, while the junior KOSDAQ rose 0.7 percent.


Move on day 0 percent


12-month high 2,057.28 14 March 2012


12-month low 1,769.31 25 July 2012


Change on yr -1.9 percent


All-time high 2,231.47 27 April 2011


All-time low 93.10 6 January 1981 (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)





Reuters: Financial Services and Real Estate




Seoul shares flat as extra budget plan offsets euro zone concern

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