Seoul shares down

Seoul shares finished down after trading in a limited range on Monday, as investors remained cautious ahead of a central bank rate decision and options expiry this week, but rises in shipyards and crude oil refiners helped. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index ended down 0.39 percent at 2,139.17 points.
KOSPI 200 June futures fell 2 points to 282.10 and the KOSPI 200 spot index lost 1.09 points to 282.59. The junior Kosdaq market ended down 0.4 percent at 504.37. "Investors are unwilling to bet aggressively before key events like Bank of Korea's rate decision later this week, particularly given the market's current level which is fairly close to the record high," said Kim June-kie, a market analyst at SK Securities.
"Amid commodities prices' latest correction, investors are growing uneasy about the economic outlook," Kim said, adding that the KOSPI could retreat to its 120-day moving average of around 2,040 points in the short-term. Shares in LG Display rose 3.7 percent after data from DisplaySearch, a research firm, showed panel prices for LCD televisions rose modestly, potentially signalling a steadier recovery.
"(LG Display shares) are up on hopes a further recovery may be ahead," said Jason Kang, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities. Order news and a 2 percent gain in the Baltic Dry Index, which measures the cost of shipping key commodities, boosted shipbuilders.
Samsung Heavy Industries ended up 1.3 percent after the company said it had received an order worth 690.6 billion won ($636 million) to build a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility for a Norway-based unit of Teekay Corp.
Hyundai Heavy Industries rose 1.9 percent. STX Corp tumbled 8.5 percent after the company said late on Friday that it would issue new shares worth 205 billion won ($189.5 million), stoking concerns increased volume would dilute the value of its shares. Shares in Samsung Engineering rose 2.8 percent after the company said on Monday it had clinched a $590 million deal with a joint venture of Saudi Arabia Mining Co (Maaden) and US aluminium giant Alcoa to build part of a huge aluminium complex.