* KOSPI rises, foreigners net sellers

* Korean won weakens against dollar

* South Korea benchmark bond yield falls

* For the midday report, please click

SEOUL, March 17 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean

financial markets:

** South Korean shares rose more than 1% to close at a two-week

high on Tuesday, as Samsung Electronics ( SSNLF ) and Hyundai Motor ( HYMLF ) jumped

on optimism around cooperation with U.S. artificial intelligence

chipmaker Nvidia ( NVDA ).

** The benchmark KOSPI was up 90.63 points, or 1.63%, at

5,640.48, its highest closing level since March 3. During the

session, it rose as much as 3.01%.

** Samsung Electronics ( SSNLF ) rose 2.76%, after Nvidia ( NVDA )

CEO Jensen Huang said the South Korean chipmaker was

producing the company's new AI chips. Rival SK Hynix

fell 0.41%.

** Hyundai Motor ( HYMLF ) and sister automaker Kia Corp ( KIMTF )

gained 3.16% and 3.27%, respectively, after they

announced their strategic partnership with Nvidia ( NVDA ) would be

expanded for next-generation autonomous driving technologies.

** The announcements coincided with Nvidia's ( NVDA ) developer

conference in California this week.

** Among other index heavyweights, battery maker LG Energy

Solution climbed 3.96%, while Steelmaker POSCO

Holdings added 2.70%. Drugmaker Samsung BioLogics

rose 1.21%.

** Of the total 925 traded issues, 631 shares advanced,

while 259 declined.

** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 177.5 billion

won ($118.92 million).

** The won was quoted at 1,493.6 per dollar on the onshore

settlement platform, 0.11% lower than its previous

close at 1,491.9.

** Bank of Korea board member Lee Soo-hyung offered a rare

assessment of the exchange rate level, saying that it was too

early to tell if the current dollar-won level of around 1,500

was misaligned with economic fundamentals.

** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield

rose by 1.2 basis points to 3.321%, while the

benchmark 10-year yield fell by 2.3 bps to 3.688%.

($1 = 1,492.6000 won)