(LEAD) Seoul shares close flat amid investor caution

(ATTN: ADDS bond yields at bottom)
By Lee Youkyung
SEOUL, Nov. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks closed almost unchanged Friday as
investors remained on the sidelines amid a lack of market-moving leads, analysts
said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) inched up 0.06 points to
1,620.6. Volume was thin at 251.3 million shares worth 3.56 trillion won (US$3.07
billion) with gainers leading losers 430 to 341.
"Trading volume has remained light since mid-September and there is a strong
tendency among investors to wait and see," said Lee Seung-woo, an analyst at
Daewoo Securities.
Foreign investors were net buyers of local shares for a fourth session, but their
net buying tumbled to 33 billion won from 673 billion won the previous day.
Machinery makers gained modest ground with Doosan Infracore, the top construction
equipment maker, climbing 3.13 percent to 18,100 won on expectations for earnings
recovery.
Tech sectors closed mixed. Memory chipmakers lost ground on a projected industry
glut in 2010. Samsung Electronics, the world's top memory chipmaker, fell 0.53
percent to 755,000 won.
But LG Electronics, the world's third-largest handset maker, rose 2.86 percent to
108,000 won on a brokerage's note that its share price has hit bottom.
LG Household & Health Care, the second-largest cosmetics firm, sank 2.17 percent
to 270,000 won as investors sought to take profits on reports that its
acquisition of the Faceshop Korea is near completion.
The local currency closed at 1,159 won to the greenback, down 1.8 won from
Thursday's close, as a halt in global equity rallies prompted investors to seek
the safe haven of the dollar, dealers said.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The return on
three-year Treasuries added 0.02 percentage point to 4.26 percent and the
benchmark yield on five-year government bonds declined 0.02 percentage point to
4.76 percent.
ylee@yna.co.kr
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