Seoul shares flat

Seoul shares were little changed on Friday, with investors trimming positions following recent gains that saw the market rise to a fresh historical closing high. Auto shares recovered from early losses, with Kia Motors extending a rally on expectations for robust first-quarter performance. Its affiliate Hyundai Motor was down 0.2 percent.
"Anxiety over China's further tightening and weak first-quarter earnings remain, but fundamentals are seen strong," with exporters set to benefit from production disruptions in Japan after the country's earthquake, said Oh On-su, a market analyst at Hyundai Securities. After testing record highs, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished down 0.03 percent at 2,140.50 points. "The market is showing speed control on a steady upswing with foreign selling," said Lim Dong-rak, a market analyst at Hanyang Securities.
Foreign selling continued for a third consecutive session, with foreign investors offloading shares worth 136.2 billion won ($125.4 million). Lim cited a weaker dollar and the returning yen carry trade as signs of abundant liquidity this month, which could help South Korean stocks. Heavyweight issues were mixed, with key blue chip technology player Samsung Electronics declining 1.3 percent and LG Chem gaining 2.1 percent. LG Chem shares posted a record high on hopes for rising demand and product prices.
Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance slid 2.6 percent, pressured by profit-taking moves. Shipbuilders slid, with losses led by the world's leading shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries. SK Communications , which runs the country's No 3 Web portal Nate, jumped 14.8 percent on strong growth expectations thanks to a new alliance with its peer Daum Communications . Daum surged 4.5 percent. Trading volume was 346.7 million shares worth 8.1 trillion won. The KOSPI 200 June futures rose 0.65 points to 283.30 and the KOSPI 200 spot index fell 0.35 points to 282.80. The junior Kosdaq market ended up 0.59 percent at 534.58.