Seoul shares seen lower on U.S., bank worries

SEOUL, March 4 (Reuters) - Seoul shares are likely to open
lower on Wednesday after overnight falls on Wall Street as
worries about the U.S. financial system rattled investors, with
focus also on South Korea's beleaguered won currency.

"Sentiment is weak following losses in U.S. stocks. Also
the won will be closely followed as its latest rapid weakness
is a big concern," said Chung Seung-jae, a market analyst at
Mirae Asset Securities.

The South Korean won rose against the dollar on Tuesday as
the foreign exchange authorities were spotted selling dollars
to support the currency. [ID:nSEO338951]

"But the government cannot intervene endlessly as there is
only a certain amount of foreign currency reserves...in the
short-term, the index could near the previous closing low about
950 points," Chung added.

Automakers including Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) and Kia
Motors (000270.KS) may be in the spotlight after posting firm
growth in their February U.S. sales, despite their peers
posting dismal figures.

Hyundai Motor posted an adjusted 2.6 percent year-on-year
rise in its U.S. sales last month, and Kia, 4.6 percent.
[ID:nN03490012] [ID:nN03497155]

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended
up 0.66 percent at 1,025.57 points on Tuesday, after sliding to
a session low of 992.69 points, the lowest intraday level since
late November.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2245 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 696.33 -0.64% -4.490
USD/JPY JPY= 98.23 0.08% 0.080
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 2.8862 -- 0.022
SPOT GOLD XAU= 914.15 -0.17% -1.550
US CRUDE CLc1 41.65 0.00% 1.500
DOW JONES .DJI 6726.02 -0.55% -37.27
ASIA ADRS .BKAS 75.84 1.21% 0.91
-------------------------------------------------------------

MARKET SUMMARY *Wall St pulled lower by banks, S&P below
700 [ID:nN03501762] *Oil rises nearly 4 pct on OPEC, stock
bounce [ID:nSP479558] *Dollar gains as US bank woes bolster
haven allure[ID:nN03587971] *Treasuries down on supply; weak
stocks check losses [ID:nN03502528]

STOCKS TO WATCH

WOORI FINANCE HOLDINGS (053000.KS)

Australian investment bank Macquarie (MQG.AX) and South
Korea's Woori Bank, a banking unit of Woori Finance Holdings,
are planning to set up a $1 billion fund to invest in South
Korea, an official at the bank said on Tuesday. [ID:nSEL000516]

(Reporting by Jungyoun Park; Editing by Dhara Ranasinghe)