S.Korean shares log record close on post-holiday chipmaker rally

* KOSPI rises, foreigners net buyers * Korean won weakens against dollar * South Korea benchmark bond yield rises * For the midday report, please click SEOUL, Oct 10 (Reuters) – Round-up of South Korean financial markets: ** South Korean shares resumed their record-setting rally on Friday following a break for local holidays, underpinned by chipmakers, driven by optimism around artificial intelligence. The won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield rose. ** The benchmark KOSPI rose 61.39 points, or 1.73%, to 3,610.60, a record close. The market remained shut this week from Monday to Thursday on account of local Chuseok and other public holidays. ** Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 6.07% and peer SK Hynix gained 8.22%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 9.90%. ** The South Korean chipmakers, which signed a supply deal with OpenAI just before the local holiday from October 3-9, extended gains to a third consecutive session. ** However, the risk appetite remained weak across broader financial markets, with the country's central bank saying it would closely monitor conditions as global risk factors had slightly increased over the holiday period. ** Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia fell 1.36% and 3.45%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 3.66%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics rose 0.50%. ** Of the total 930 traded issues, 276 advanced and 624 declined. ** Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 1,060.0 billion won ($745.9 million). ** The won was quoted at 1,421.0 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.99% below Thursday's close of 1,407.0. ** The KOSPI has risen 50.47% year-to-date. ** The won has strengthened 3.6% against the dollar so far this year. ** In the money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds lost 0.03 point to 106.76. ** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose 1.4 basis points to 2.592%, while the benchmark 10-year yield added 0.8 basis points to 2.965%. ($1 = 1,421.0300 won) (Reporting by Cynthia Kim; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

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