* KOSPI rises, foreigners net buyers * Korean won weakens against dollar * South Korea benchmark bond yield rises SEOUL, Oct 10 (Reuters) – Round-up of South Korean financial markets: ** South Korean shares resumed their record-setting rally on Friday following a local holiday break, underpinned by chipmakers, as optimism around artificial intelligence continued to drive gains. ** The won weakened to a five-month low, while the benchmark bond yield rose. ** The benchmark KOSPI was up 63.95 points, or 1.80%, at 3,613.16, as of 0135 GMT. Earlier in the day, the index climbed as much as nearly 2% to an all-time high. ** Chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 5.96% to its highest level since January 2021 and peer SK Hynix gained 9.23% to its highest point on record. ** The South Korean chipmakers, which signed a supply deal with OpenAI just before the local holiday period from October 3 to October 9, extended gains for a third consecutive session. ** However, risk appetite remained weak across broader financial markets, with the country's central bank stating that it would closely monitor conditions as global risk factors had slightly increased over the holiday period. ** Shares of steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 3.85% and Hyundai Steel dropped 1.36%, after the European Union announced higher tariffs on steel imports. ** Among other index heavyweights, battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 10.09%, while Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were down 1.14% and 2.69%, respectively. ** Of the total 929 traded issues, 250 shares advanced, while 649 declined. ** Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 655.8 billion won ($461.53 million). ** The won was quoted at 1,419.6 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.89% lower than its previous close at 1,407.0. During the session, it hit its weakest level since mid-May at 1,424.0. ** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds lost 0.09 point to 106.70. ** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 3.0 basis points to 2.608%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 2.4 basis points to 2.981%. ($1 = 1,420.9200 won) (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
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