*
KOSPI rises 1%, foreigners net buyers
*
Korean won strengthens against dollar
*
South Korea benchmark bond yield rises
SEOUL, March 31 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
** South Korean shares rose 1% on Friday, helped by Wall
Street's strength overnight, and were set for their biggest
quarterly gain in more than two years. The Korean won
strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.
** The benchmark KOSPI rose 25.56 points, or 1.04%,
to 2,478.72, as of 0156 GMT, hitting its highest since
mid-February and extending gains to a fourth session.
** The KOSPI has risen 2.6% so far in the week and 2.7% in
the month. It has added 10.8% so far in the quarter, heading for
its best quarter since the last quarter of 2020.
** "Chipmakers, automakers and IT stocks led the gains,"
said analyst Park Kwang-nam at Mirae Asset Securities.
** Technology giant Samsung Electronics rose
1.11% and peer SK Hynix gained 0.11%, while battery
maker LG Energy Solution declined 0.17%.
** Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp rose 1.1% and 1.64%, respectively, while steelmaker
POSCO Holdings jumped 12.08%.
** Of the total 936 issues traded, 500 shares rose.
** Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 111.1 billion
won ($86.04 million).
** The won was quoted at 1,294.7 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform , 0.33% higher than its previous close at 1,299.0.
** The currency was up 0.2% for the week and 2.4% for the
month, but down 2.1% for the quarter.
** In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year
treasury bonds fell 0.09 point to 104.97.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield
rose by 2.0 basis points to 3.260%, while the benchmark 10-year
yield rose by 2.3 basis points to 3.326%.
($1 = 1,291.2800 won)
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
