Seoul stocks eke out gains

Seoul shares edged up on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates low for a longer-than-expected period, but gains were capped as retail and institutional investors cashed in on the market's recent gaining streak.
"Institutional selling linked to fund redemptions are weighing heavily on the market, in addition to retail investors dumping shares," said Lee Eun-taek, an analyst at Dongbu Securities. "With share flows moving from blue chips to smaller-cap issues, there may be room yet for further gains," said Cho Byung-hun, an analyst at Tong Yang Securities.
US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke announced on Wednesday that the central bank would likely keep interest rates near zero until at least late 2014 and left the door open for additional stimulus measures. The South Korean central bank may be facing pressure to provide its own easing measures following data that showed South Korea's fourth quarter GDP growth at two-year low and well below analyst forecasts.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) edged 0.25 percent to close at 1,957.18 points, setting a fresh six-month closing high and hovering near its 200-day moving average of 1,956.00. Offshore investors were buyers for an 11th straight session, the longest such streak since last May, snapping up a net 448.5 billion won ($398.3 million) worth of shares.
Gains were led by refiners and petrochemical producers, with S-Oil, South Korea's third-largest refiner, gaining 2.95 percent while polysilicon maker OCI Corp saw its shares rise 3.7 percent. LED producers rallied following reports that the government was establishing a green technology research centre, with Kumho Electric shares jumping 8.06 percent while Seoul Semiconductor Inc gained 3.89 percent.
Samyang Foods spiked 9.39 percent, backed by the continued success of its new instant noodle brand, which has driven the company's share price up more than 45 percent since December. Hyundai Motor Co shares fell 2.14 percent after it announced fourth-quarter results that slightly missed forecasts. 403.2 million shares exchanged hands in the main bourse with gainers outnumbering losers 512 to 289. The KOSPI 200 index closed 0.15 percent higher while the junior KOSDAQ index rose 0.97 percent.