Seoul shares turn lower; Woori, Daewoo E&C fall
* KOSPI sheds 0.45 pct on foreign, institutional selling
* Woori Finance falls after block deal by KDIC
* Daewoo Engineering down after preferred buyers are named
By Jungyoun Park
SEOUL, Nov 24 - Seoul shares turned lower shedding an early 0.5 percent rise, led by banking and technology issues including Samsung Electronics <005930.KS>, with Woori Finance <053000.KS> down after a block sale of its shares.
"Foreign investors did not turn net buyers as hoped today, despite gains on Wall Street overnight, although they are not selling massively either. Strong conviction is lacking," said Kim Seong-bong, a market analyst at Samsung Securities.
Foreign investors were sellers of a net 75 billion won worth of stocks, selling for a second consecutive session, and institutions were offloading 60.3 billion won as of 0153 GMT.
"Technology exporters are down on continued forex uncertainties, and investors are also locking in profits on the latest gains by banks," Kim added.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index <.KS11> was down 0.45 percent at 1,611.71 points as of 0136 GMT.
Woori Finance Holdings retreated after South Korea's Korea Deposit Insurance Corp sold 56 million shares in the group at 15,350 per share, offloading stocks for a total of 866 billion won , according to the statement by the state agency on Tuesday.
Woori Finance was down 1.25 percent, but outperformed against Hana Financial Group's <086790.KS> 2.46 percent loss. KB Financial Group <105560.KS> declined 1.27 percent.
"Shares were offered quite cheaply, but the black deal was not taken neagtively. This is seen as a step closer to Woori's eventual privatisation," said Hwang Huhn, an analyst at Woori Investment & Securities.
Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co Ltd <047040.KS> fell 3.6 percent after news late on Monday that an Abu Dhabi fund-led consortium and a group including a U.S. builder were picked as preferred buyers of Daewoo in a deal estimated to fetch about $2.6 billion. [ID:nSEO97180]
"The impact from the news is neutral. All we can say for now is that the sale process does not seem as smooth as hoped," said Han Sang-hee, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities.
But shares in Samsung Engineering <028050.KS> were up 2.13 percent on news of a 1.4 trillion won order from the United Arab Emirates. [ID:nSEL002780]
Defensive issues outperformed, with Shinsegae Co Ltd <004170.KS>, South Korea's top retailer and an operator of discount store chains and department stores, up 0.74 percent and food giant CJ Corp <001040.KS> ahead 0.77 percent. ((jungyoun.park@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5643; Reuters Messaging: jungyoun.park.reuters.com@reuters.net)) ((If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com))