*
KOSPI falls, foreigners net sellers
*
Korean won strengthens against dollar
*
South Korea benchmark bond yield falls
SEOUL, March 13 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
** South Korean shares fell on Monday, weighed down by
heightened uncertainty around the collapse of Silicon Valley
Bank in the United States. The Korean won strengthened, while
the benchmark bond yield dropped.
** The benchmark KOSPI fell 18.92 points, or 0.79%,
to 2,375.67, as of 0137 GMT.
** The finance-major index declined 0.76% and the
securities-minor index dropped 0.44%. The Financial
Supervisory Service said most local firms were well-positioned
to withstand temporary shocks.
** U.S. authorities stepped in on Sunday with a series of
emergency measures to shore up confidence in the banking system
after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank threatened to
trigger a broader systemic crisis.
** "The possibility of a broader credit risk is low, but
investor sentiment is definitely hurt with higher uncertainty of
both positive and negative macroeconomic implications," said
analyst Park Kwang-nam at Mirae Asset Securities.
** South Korea's finance ministry and central bank said they
were closely monitoring financial markets and vowed to take
market-stabilising measures if needed.
** HYBE rose 2.01% after the K-Pop agency
dropped its plan to take control of SM Entertainment, while
takeover battle winner Kakao rose 1.55%. SM
Entertainment dropped 18.13%.
** Technology giant Samsung Electronics fell
0.17% and peer SK Hynix lost 0.36%, while battery
maker LG Energy Solution advanced 0.54%.
** Of the total 929 issues traded, only 57 shares rose.
** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 64.1 billion
won ($48.68 million).
** The won was quoted at 1,315.0 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform , 0.70% higher than its previous
close at 1,324.2.
** In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year
treasury bonds rose 0.49 point to 104.11.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield
fell by 16.2 basis points to 3.537%, while the benchmark 10-year
yield fell by 9.4 basis points to 3.489%.
($1 = 1,316.6500 won)
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
