Seoul shares seen lower after sharp U.S. job cuts

SEOUL, March 10 (Reuters) - Seoul shares are set to fall on Monday, as U.S. recession fears deepened following news of more job cuts in the world's biggest economy.

U.S. employers unexpectedly cut jobs in February at the steepest rate in five years, a second straight month of employment losses that heightened worries that South Korea's second largest export market has skidded into recession. [N07310787]

In addition, a top U.S. mortgage lender Thornburg Mortgage Inc.(TMA.N: Quote, Profile, Research), which provides loans to help people buy expensive homes, said on Friday it failed to meet creditors' demands for more upfront cash and announced that its survival was stake, fueling worries about credit market health. [N07344671]

Financial shares such as Kookmin Bank (060000.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) and Shinhan Financial Group (055550.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) and major electronics exporters like Samsung Electronics (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) and LG Electronics (066570.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) were all seen to come under selling pressure.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index ended down 1.97 percent at 1,663.97 points on Friday. ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 2235 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 .SPX 1293.37 -0.84% -10.970 USD/JPY <JPY=> 102.3 -0.19% -0.190 10-YR US TSY YLD <US10YT=RR> 3.5411 -- 0.000 SPOT GOLD <XAU=> 975.5 0.30% 2.900 US CRUDE CLc1 105.44 0.28% 0.290 DOW JONES .DJI 11893.69 -1.22% -146.70 -------------------------------------------------------------

MARKETS SUMMARY *Wall St drops as job data deepens economic woe [nN07361073] *Oil ends down,eases off record above $106 a barrel [nSP170398] *Dollar rebounds after Fed liquidity move [nN07630953] *Benchmark Treasury bonds up, data show jobs slump [nN07350789]

STOCKS TO WATCH

- STEEL SHARES

South Korean government said on Sunday it will crack down on people attempting to accumulate stocks of steel scraps and bars to prevent speculative demand and stabilise prices of those products. This move applies to producers and retailers of steel products. Steel bar prices had risen 28.2 percent by February from the end of last year, more than the increase in wholesale prices and import prices of steel scraps, according to the Finance Ministry. Hyundai Steel (004020.KS: Quote, Profile, Research), for one, has 40 percent of the local steel bar market, with output of 3.7 million tonnes. [ID:nSEO206646] (Reporting by Park Jung-youn; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)