Seoul shares flat

Seoul shares ended nearly flat on Friday after recent gains that lifted the main index to a series of new highs, with key technology issues such as Samsung Electronics turning lower. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished down 0.03 percent at 2,197.82 points, and the KOSPI's 20-day relative strength index hit 75, above the overbought territory mark of 70.
"The market was a bit slow today and that's only natural given latest streak of gains that it saw this week. Shares were taking a breather," said Lawrence Kim, a market analyst at Woori Investment & Securities. "Upside momentum is still alive. We expect foreign buying to continue," Kim added. Foreign investors were sellers of a 199 billion Korean won ($184.1 mln) worth of stocks, continuing to pick up shares for a third consecutive session.
Technology stocks eased. Shares in Samsung Electronics fell 2.6 percent after three straight sessions of gains. Shares in Hynix Semiconductor shed 1.1 percent. Shares in POSCO rose 0.5 percent ahead of its quarterly results announcement after market close on Friday.
The world's No 3 steelmaker was expected to report first quarter operating profit of 1.1 trillion won, according to ThomsonReuters I/B/E/S. This compares with 1.45 trillion won a year ago. The company after the market close reported a 36 percent fall in quarterly operating profit, missing forecasts. But news of steel price hike plans earlier this week pointed to improved earnings momentum in the second quarter, analysts said. Industry sources had said earlier this week POSCO would raise domestic steel prices by 16-18 percent this week. Shares in KT Corp ended up 1.1 percent after South Korea's top fixed-line and No 2 mobile company said it was in talks to sell its Russian unit New Telephone Company (NTC). The KOSPI 200 June futures fell 0.2 points to 292.35 and the KOSPI 200 spot index lost 0.32 points to 290.84. The junior Kosdaq market ended down 0.82 percent at 525.26.