Seoul shares edged down 0.2 percent on Tuesday, hurt by falls in autos and petrochemical companies such as LG Chem, but strong gains in memory chip plays and shipyards including Samsung Electronics helped. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended down 0.16 percent at 2,096.48 points. The KOSPI 200 March futures index fell 1.35 points to 276.35 points.
The KOSPI 200 spot index lost 0.45 points to 276.60. The junior Kosdaq index shed 0.75 percent to 529.02. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Hynix Semiconductor Inc advanced firmly after the Nikkei business daily reported that Japan's Elpida Memory Inc planned to raise prices of DRAM chips used in personal computers by about 10 percent as early as this month.
Samsung Electronics, the world's No 1 memory chip maker, rose 2.11 percent to 969,000 won after hitting an all-time high of 981,000 won. Hynix Semiconductor, the world's No 2 memory chip maker, advanced 2.79 percent. News that Steve Jobs would take a medical leave revived questions about the long-term outlook for Apple if the man, deemed irreplaceable by many fans and investors, does not return to the company.
But auto plays were weighed down by recent strength in the won currency and crude oil prices. Shares in Hyundai Motor, South Korea's biggest automaker, fell 2.3 percent and Kia Motors shed 1.6 percent. Losses in banks also weighed as KB Financial Group Inc fell 2.5 percent and Shinhan Financial Group Co Ltd shed 2.8 percent.
Chemicals companies retreated following a power outage in the south-western city of Yeosu, where the facilities are clustered. LG Chem Ltd 10fell 0.7 percent and Namhae Chemical Co Ltd declined 1.6 percent. LG Chem would restart its 1-million-tonne-per-year (tpy) naphtha cracker on Tuesday following a shutdown due to a power outage the day before, a company official said. Shares in STX Offshore & Shipbuilding rose 4 percent and Daewoo Engineering & Construction rose 3 percent.
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