Seoul shares fall after rally, led by exporters

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SEOUL, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Seoul shares fell 1.5 percent on Tuesdayafter gaining more than 5 percent in the previous session, withdeclines led by technology exporters that had posted the biggestgains on Monday.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index <.KS11> closed at1,454.50 points.
'Volatilities in foreign exchange markets, as was seen with the woncurrency's rapid weakness on the day, worsened sentiment,' saidPark So-yeon, a market analyst at Korea Investment & Securities.
However, the markets were relatively calm despite earlier concernsthat some $7 billion of domestic bonds in foreign investors' handscoming due on Tuesday and Wednesday could have triggered a massivecapital outflow.
Data from the South Korean financial market regulator showed onTuesday that foreign investors have added a net 1.24 trillion won($1.15 billion) worth of South Korean domestic bonds to theirportfolios so far this month, including 50 billion won on Monday.[ID:nSEO278019]
'We do not think September financial crisis is the case here. Weare fairly sure the maturity will pass without causing much of aripple. Much of today's falls were also due to big gains onMonday,' Park of Korea Investment added.
Sectors posting the largest gains in the prior session, includingexporters and banking, suffered the largest losses. SamsungElectronics <005930.KS>, the world's No.1 memory chip maker,fell 1.29 percent to 536,000 won and Hynix Semiconductor<000660.KS>, the No. 2, dropped 6.53 percent to 18,600 won.
LG Electronics <066570.KS>, the world's No. 4 cell phonemaker, was down 2.96 percent to 98,500 won and LG Display<034220.KS> lost 1.28 percent to 27,050 won.
Meanwhile, shares in Korea Electric Power Corp <015760.KS>and Korea Gas Corp <036460.KS> continued their downward runafter South Korea's energy minister said on Monday the state-runenergy agencies will be unable to pay dividends this year due toexpected large-scale losses [ID:nSEO255283].
KOGAS came under further pressure after local media reported lateon Monday that South Korea will allow private firms to bring in andsell liquified natural gas (LNG), a market that is currentlymonopolised by state-run Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS) [ID:nSEO256373].
'The dividend cut and the news of privatisation of gas importsfurther worsened sentiment towards those state utilities issues,'said Yang Ji-hwan, an analyst at Daishin Securities.
KEPCO dropped 3.1 percent to 31,300 won and KOGAS lost 5.83 percentto 69,400 won.
Steelmakers fell after their U.S. peers declined due to sectoralworries. POSCO <005490.KS> slid 3.78 percent to 433,000 wonand Dongbu Steel <016380.KS> closed 5.68 percent to 10,800won.
Shares in Megastudy <072870.KQ>, the country's biggest onlinelecture provider for high school students, plunged after GoldmanSachs downgraded its rating, according to analysts.
The U.S. brokerage forecast a slowdown in Megastudy's growth in thesecond half of this year, analysts said.
'A fast growth in Megastudy is likely tackled by a variety ofobstacles such as more intense competition,' Park Yong-dae, ananalyst at CJ Investment & Securities, said.
Megastudy closed 9.35 percent lower at 191,900 won.
(Editing by Ken Wills)
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