Seoul stocks seen up as US data buoys exporters

SEOUL, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Seoul stocks are expected to gain
on Thursday, led by exporters such as LG Electronics
(066570.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) after surprisingly strong U.S. retail sales soothed
fears over a recession in the United States, South Korea's No.2
export market.

Chip makers led by Samsung Electronics (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) could
also rally, after Applied Materials (AMAT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) forecast strong
orders for chip-making equipment, boosting semiconductor shares
in Wall Street.

An unexpected rise in U.S. retail sales during January
boosted hopes the United States might avoid a recession despite
the pressure that a weakening housing market is putting on
consumers' pocketbooks. [ID:nN13334844]

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index ended down
0.7 percent at 1,631.78 points on Wednesday.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2233 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 1367.21 1.36% 18.350
USD/JPY <JPY=> 108.23 -0.07% -0.080
10-YR US TSY YLD <US10YT=RR> 3.7359 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD <XAU=> 904.8 -0.14% -1.300
US CRUDE CLc1 93.34 0.60% 0.560
DOW JONES .DJI 12552.24 1.45% 178.83
-------------------------------------------------------------

MARKETS SUMMARY

*U.S. stocks rise as retail sales soothe economy fears
[ID:nN13625111]

*Oil steady near $93, Venezuela spat supports [ID:nT144109]

*Dollar rallies to 1-mo high vs yen on retail data
[ID:nN13311017]

*Treasuries pushed mostly lower in late stock surge
[ID:nN13595326]

STOCKS TO WATCH

- Korean Air

Korean Air Co (003490.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) will purchase an additional three
A380 aircraft from Airbus (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) on top of five jets it had
earlier agreed to buy from the European aerospace firm, a
company official said on Wednesday. [ID:nSEO315451]

- KT&G

KT&G Corp (033780.KS: Quote, Profile, Research), South Korea's top tobacco maker,
said on Wednesday it plans to invest 156.7 billion won ($165.8
million) in a cigarette plant in Russia. [ID:nSEO224668]

- Ssangyong Motor

Ssangyong Motor (003620.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) said late on Wednesday its
fourth-quarter net loss narrowed to 5.2 billion won from 130.6
billion won loss a year earlier. [ID:nSEF000101]

(Reporting by Kim Soyoung; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)