South Korea shares track Wall Street gains as shipbuilders surge

SEOUL, Nov 2: South Korean shares rose on Friday after data suggested that the world�s top economies, the United States and China, were stabilising, setting off a surge in stocks of ship-building firms.U.S. Private-sector jobs grew at the fastest pace in eight months in October, a survey found, while consumer confidence for the month jumped to its highest in more than four years, pushing all three Wall Street indices higher by more than 1 percent.The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ticked 1.11 percent higher at 1,919.52 points as of 0247 GMT, climbing back over the 1,900-mark after faltering on Thursday.Samsung Heavy Industries, the world�s second largest shipbuilder, led the charge, rising 7 percent, helped by better-than-expected earnings it reported on Thursday. The shipbuilder sub-index was also up 3.8 percent.Technology stocks were among the biggest gainers in large cap shares, buoyed by expectations that a booming market for mobile devices will lead to higher sales of components. Samsung Electronics Co rose 2.2 percent and its smaller peers LG Display and SK Hynix rose more than 2 percent respectively.�Recent improvements in economic fundamentals are solid, but the problem is how much the market trusts this when facing potential game-changers such as the U.S. Elections,� said Kang Hyun-ki at IM Investment & Securities.Chinese factory data earlier indicated a recovery was underway[ID:nL1E8M1E01}, further boosting sentiment.On the downside, big utilities Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS) and Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) both dipped 0.2 percent, after surging on defensive plays in Thursday�s bear market.Gainers outnumbered decliners 503 to 284.The KOSPI 200 benchmark of core stocks was up 1.3 percent, while the junior KOSDAQ edged 0.9 percent higher. (agencies)