Seoul shares seen rangebound; LG Display, Samsung Elec eyed

SEOUL, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Seoul shares are seen steady
or drifting lower on Friday after falls on Wall Street
overnight, with investors looking to cash in on recent gains as
they await clearer signals on the direction of the global
economy ahead of a European Union summit next week.

"Despite an extended run in offshore bids, fund redemption
requests are likely to trigger continued selloffs by
institutional investors, forming a deadlock that will hold the
index in a narrow range around the 1,950 level," said Lee
Young-gon, an analyst at Hana Daetoo Securities.

Greece and its private creditors said on Thursday that
progress was being made in their debt talks and they would
continue negotiating on Friday with the aim of sealing an
agreement within a few days.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose
0.25 percent to close at 1,957.18 points on Thursday.

-----------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 22:34 GMT-----------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 1,318.43 -0.57% -7.620
USD/JPY 77.41 -0.05% -0.040
10-YR US TSY YLD 1.940 -- -0.062
SPOT GOLD $1,719.75 -0.02% -0.290
US CRUDE $99.70 0.30% 0.300
DOW JONES 12734.63 -0.18% -22.33
ASIA ADRS 125.09 -0.18% -0.23
------------------------------------------------------------
>January rally interrupted as buyers pull back

>Treasuries climb on Fed stance, Europe fears
>Euro steady vs dollar after hitting 5-week high
>Oil ends up on Fed plan, U.S. data, Iran threat

---STOCKS TO WATCH---

**LG DISPLAY CO LTD **

Flat-screen maker LG Display posted a sharply
narrowed quarterly loss on Friday, helped by solid demand from
smartphones and tablet makers and as falling TV panel prices
stabilise.

**SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD **

Samsung Electronics Co is set to report record
quarterly profits on Friday, but the prime focus will be on its
2012 spending plans and mobile sales numbers as it vies with
Apple Inc for smartphone supremacy.

**LG LIFE SCIENCES LTD **

According to local media, LG Life Sciences Ltd has
taken over Japanese cosmetics company Ginza Stefany Cosmetics
Co. Ltd to expand into the Japanese market.

**HOTEL SHILLA CO LTD **

Hotel Shilla, a South Korean hotel and duty-free
store chain, is pulling out of its bakery and cafe operations,
media reports said.

(Reporting by Joonhee Yu; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)