Seoul shares higher

Seoul shares ended higher on Wednesday, supported by gains in brokerages and retail plays, while telecom issues such as SK Telecom Co Ltd declined. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished up 0.5 percent or 10.2 points at 2,043.5. The KOSPI 200 March futures index rose 3 points to 271.95. The KOSPI 200 spot index went up 1.4 points to 270.44. The junior Kosdaq market gained 1.5 percent to 502.31.
"The market performed very well despite ex-dividend effect today, and this comes as a sign of market's confidence about next year as well," said Lee Kyoung-su, a market analyst at Taurus Investment & Securities. The main index may rise as high as 2,400 points by the first quarter of next year, Lee said. Shares in retailer Shinsegae jumped after the company said late on Tuesday it was planning to issue bonus shares.
Shinsegae shares ended up 4.6 percent at 620,000 won, after rising as high of 672,000 won, a level last seen in early January, 2008. Trading volume was more than 4 times its average 30-day daily volume. But high-dividend issues such as telecommunications companies and Korea Exchange Bank lost ground as they went ex-dividend. From the ex-dividend date, new shareholders no longer qualify for the latest dividend payout and the market generally sees bigger losses on the day in high-dividend issues as they reflect dividend payouts.
SK Telecom and KT Corp fell 4.4 percent and 5 percent respectively. Korea Exchange Bank shed 4 percent. The dividend yields of both SK Telecom and KT are about 5.2 percent, while Korea Exchange Bank has a yield of 5.9 percent, according to Reuters data. This compares with the broader market yield of about 0.9 percent. Retail issues also gained, with Lotte Shopping up 1.1 percent and Hyundai Department Store rose 1.9 percent.