*
KOSPI rises, foreigners net buyers
*
Korean won strengthens against dollar
*
South Korea benchmark bond yield falls
SEOUL, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean
financial markets:
** South Korean shares advanced on Wednesday, tracking Wall
Street and buoyed by gains in chipmakers, even as local trade
data came in much worse than expected. The won strengthened,
while the benchmark bond yield fell.
** The benchmark KOSPI rose 18.00 points, or 0.74%,
to 2,443.08, as of 0147 GMT.
** "The market rose on Wall Street's gains and perception that chipmakers' heavy losses in the previous session were due to some misunderstandings," said Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.
** "Despite weak exports, investors are paying attention only to positive factors."
** South Korea posted a record monthly trade deficit for
January due mainly to a far worse-than-expected drop in exports,
led by a plunge in China-bound shipments.
** Investors are awaiting the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy
decision due later in the day, with wariness over whether its
Chair Jerome Powell would speak in a hawkish tone.
** SK Hynix rose 0.34%, even after the chipmaker
reported a record quarterly operating loss and said the
semiconductor industry downturn would worsen in the first half.
Its bigger rival Samsung Electronics was up 0.98%.
** The gains came after the previous session's sharp losses,
which were triggered by signals from Samsung Electronics that it
would not cut its investment in chips to prop up falling prices.
** Most heavyweights, including battery makers, automakers
and online service providers, reversed the previous session's
losses. Of the total 932 issues traded, 455 shares advanced.
** Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 63.1 billion
won ($51.23 million).
** The won was quoted at 1,231.1 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform , 0.06% higher than its previous
close.
** In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year
treasury bonds rose 0.09 point to 104.89.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield
fell by 5.5 basis points to 3.279%, while the benchmark 10-year
yield fell by 6.9 basis points to 3.249%.
($1 = 1,231.6400 won)
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
