SEOUL, April 13 (Reuters) - Seoul shares turned slightly lower on Tuesday, with POSCO slipping ahead of its quarterly results, but a rebound in key exporting issues such as Kia Motors helped limit losses.
Analysts said caution pervaded trade ahead of key U.S. corporate earnings, including Intel Corp, and U.S. March retail sales data later in the week.
'Investors are divided on the meaning of the selling by foreign investors and the market correction ... but if Intel earnings and U.S. retail sales data are solid as hoped, the market will likely turn up, reviving upside momentum,' said Chung Myoung-gi, a market analyst at Samsung Securities.
'The market was due for a correction following an extended rally. I personally do not read great meaning into the downward movement we have seen this week,' Chung said.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was down 0.10 percent at 1,708.56 points as of 0232 GMT.
Foreign investors were sellers of a net 94.4 billion won ($84.67 million) worth of stocks after snapping a 22 consecutive buying streak in the previous session, the longest buying run since early March, 1998.
POSCO underperformed, slipping 1.3 percent, ahead of quarterly results by the world's No.4 steelmaker on Tuesday afternoon. A local media report on Tuesday said the company expected a first-quarter operating profit of more than 1.45 trillion won ($1.30 billion).
The figure is a major improvement from 373 billion won in operating profit a year earlier, but weaker than the previous quarter's 1.6 trillion won.
'The reported figure is largely in line with a market consensus. I do not think the numbers POSCO delivers today will be a surprise. However, investors are keen on the company's outlook comments and guidance for this year's performance,' said Kim Jung-wook, an analyst at Hana Daetoo Securities. 'Shipyards and construction sectors have hit bottom, and are expected to pick up slowly. Demand from the auto sector is robust ... the view is generally positive.'
Carmakers recovered from sharp losses in the previous session, with Kia Motors up 2 percent.
'Yesterday's loss was due to volatility in the forex market as the won strengthened rapidly. Because the company's fundamentals remain sound, its shares are bouncing back,' said Kang Sang-min, an analyst at Hanwha Securities. 'Earnings at South Korean carmakers will be strong through the first half. The rate at which they grow may slow in the second half, as their numbers in the second half of 2009 were also strong.'
Hyundai Motor, the country's No.1 carmaker, rose 0.85 percent.
NHN Corp advanced 1.84 percent after Japan's LDH Corp agreed to sell Internet portal Livedoor Co to South Korea's top Internet company for $68 million.
'The pricing of the deal was better than the market had expected. NHN was expected to buy a partial stake, but it managed to buy nearly the whole company,' said Hong Jong-gil, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities. '(The acquisition) is expected to strengthen NHN's position in Japan. User traffic in Japan will likely rise.'
((Editing by Chris Lewis))
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