Seoul shares up

Seoul shares reversed earlier losses to eke out a small gain on Tuesday after two consecutive falling sessions, but rises were limited as a lack of progress in dealing with debt issues in the United States and Europe sapped investor confidence. "The small rebound in Seoul shares today was a technical adjustment, with investors shrugging off the news of a breakdown in the US deficit talks as they pinned few hopes on a compromise in the first place," said Y.S. Rhoo, a market analyst at Hyundai Securities.
Optimism about a eurozone finance heads' meeting at the end of the month and that the US economy may find further support from the upcoming holiday shopping season could help shares in the near term, Rhoo said. The market will likely be trapped within the 1,800-1,900 point range through the end of the year, said Kwak Joong-bo, a market analyst at Samsung Securities.
Foreign investors were sellers of a net 313.4 billion won ($274.77 million) worth of stocks, offloading shares for a fourth straight session. Institutions were buyers of a net 136.3 billion won, snapping a five-session selling streak. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index ended up 0.34 percent or 6.25 points at 1,826.28 points. The KOSPI 200 index rose 0.49 percent, while the junior Kosdaq market advanced 1.47 percent. POSCO fell 1.35 percent and Hyundai Steel declined 1.4 percent.