SEOUL, July 9: Seoul shares edged up on Tuesday drawing support from strength in global equities overnight, with Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Asiana Airlines Inc shares rebounding after their sharp falls in the previous session.
However, investors were cautious before the start of the earnings season while the broader market was also constrained by falls in crude oil refiners after oil prices dropped overnight.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 0.2 percent at 1,820.00 points as of 0144 GMT.
‘Investors are moving more cautiously ahead of the earnings season. The market is also still in the process of gauging whether strength in the U.S. Job data last week was a good thing or a bad thing,’ said Chung Seung-jae, a market analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.
‘Investors are still unsure whether signs of economic improvement in the U.S. Is better for the market than the premature reduction of Fed stimulus,’ Chung added.
Foreign investors were sellers of a net 29.4 billion Korean won ($25.51 million) worth of stocks, offloading shares for a fifth consecutive session.
Samsung Electronics shares were up 1 percent after ending at a 10-month closing low on Monday, which has prompted bargain buying, analysts said.
Samsung Electronics share were trading at a 12-month forward price earnings multiple of 5.7, Thomson Reuters StarMine data showed. This was below the market’s PE multiple of 8.6 and rival Apple Inc’s 9.9.
The smartphone maker last Friday released second quarter earnings estimates that were below market forecasts, sparking a 7 percent fall in its shares for two consecutive sessions.
Asiana Airlines Inc shares rose 1.6 percent on their second day of trading after one of its Boeing 777 aircraft crash-landed at San Francisco’s international airport on Saturday.
‘Today’s media reports seem to indicate that the accident may not be due to pilots’ faults,’ said Kim Min-ji, an analyst at E-Trade Securities, referring to local media reports.
The runway at the San Francisco airport assigned to Asiana’s aircraft had earlier been determined by U.S. Experts as unfit for landing for larger passenger jets, South Korea’s Maeil Business newspaper reported.
‘Share moves will be volatile as investors eye the latest media reports and developments on the investigation,’ said Kang Seong-jin, an analyst at Tong Yang Securities.
Asiana’s peer, Korean Air Line Co Ltd shares were down 1 percent.
Crude oil refiners eased as oil prices fell overnight.
SK Innovation Co Ltd shares fell 1.4 percent and S-Oil Corp declined 1.7 percent.
The KOSPI 200 benchmark of core stocks was up 0.4 percent, while the junior KOSDAQ rose 0.1 percent. ($1 = 1152.2750 Korean won)
(agencies)
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