SEOUL, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Seoul shares are seen
retreating on Thursday as a new year rally runs out of steam and
investors shift their focus towards the unresolved debt crisis
in Europe.
    "U.S. data from December, propped up by one-off factors
during the holiday season, was only a shot in the arm and will
not provide any long-lasting confidence boost," said Lee
Kyung-soo, a market analyst at Tong Yang Securities.
    "Now that we've moved past the holidays and new year
optimism, investors are worried again about Europe and what
might happen if euro zone countries fail to roll over their debt
when it matures in the coming months," he added.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed
0.49 percent lower at 1,866.22 points on Wednesday.	

------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 22:34 GMT------------------
                 INSTRUMENT     LAST     PCT CHG     NET CH
S&P 500                1,277.30    0.02%      0.240
USD/JPY                76.72       0.01%      0.010
10-YR US TSY YLD  1.984        --        0.028
SPOT GOLD              $1,611.34   0.05%      0.740
US CRUDE               $103.22     0.25%      0.260
DOW JONES              12418.42    0.17%      21.04
ASIA ADRS             117.00      -0.01%      -0.01
---------------------------------------------------------------
>Wall St flat as market brushes off Europe concerns
>Bond prices fall as economy hopes cut safety bid
>Euro drop as debt funding fears keep investors war
>Oil gains a second day after EU reaches Iran sanct 	

**STOCKS TO WATCH**	

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD 	

According to local media, Samsung Electronics is
reviewing a plan to build a new semiconductor production line in
the South Korean city of Pyeongtaek, just after the company
received approval to construct an estimated $4 billion flash
memory plant in China. 	

 (Reporting by Joonhee Yu; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)