Samsung Profit Surprises Market

And in other business news... South Korea's Samsung expects an operating profit range of up to $2 billion in the last quarter, well above market estimates.

The comments from the world's top maker of memory chips and flat screen TVs sent its shares higher, helping support Seoul's KOSPI.

Samsung is due to report earnings July 24, but offered guidance that exceeded analyst estimates.

The global financial crisis has hit sales of electronics goods, while the chip industry has faced a historic slump in demand and prices.

But Samsung's sales of LCD TVs, particularly those using light-emitting diodes as backlights, are expected to have sidestepped the downturn.

The consumer electronics giant makes up 10 percent of the benchmark KOSPI, the largest share of a Korean company.

The stock of other Korean firms like LG took heart from the news on hopes that the strong sales performance was sector-wide.

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