Seoul shares likely to be affected by Obama's speech

SEOUL, Sept. 3 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean market is likely to remain cautious next week ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's Labor Day speech, watching whether he will come up with an effective stimulus package, local analysts said Saturday.
The view comes as the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) wrapped up this week at 1,867.75, up 88.8 points, or 5 percent, from a week earlier.
The KOSPI gained ground as investor sentiment was buoyed by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's remark that the U.S. central bank will discuss stimulus measures to support the weakening economy at its September meeting, hinting at a third round of quantitative easing.
Better-than-expected U.S. consumer data and reports on a merger between two giant Greek banks also contributed to the bullish market.
But the overall gain was limited due to foreign sell-offs and poor U.S. payroll data that kept the index from reaching the 1,900 point level by the end of weekly trading.
Analysts said the Seoul stock market will respond to foreign developments scheduled next week. They said there is a need to be cautious about big events such as a European Union meeting on Greek rescue efforts set for Sept. 5 and Obama's Labor Day speech on Sept. 8.
"We need to take a wait-and-see attitude next week," said Lee Seung-woo, an analyst at Daewoo Securities Co. "The most important thing is whether Obama brings up fully satisfying stimulus plans in his address."
brk@yna.co.kr