South Korean stocks end higher on foreign purchases; US inflation in focus

* KOSPI on the rise, foreigners net buyers
* Korean won flat against the US dollar
* The yield on benchmark bonds in South Korea falls
* For the midday report, please click
SEOUL, June 10 (Reuters) – Overview of South Korean financial markets:
** South Korean stocks ended higher on Thursday, driven by strong foreign buying, as investors waited for clearer signals on inflation ahead of US data expected later today. The won traded flat, while the benchmark bond yield fell.
** The benchmark KOSPI closed at 8.46 points, or 0.26%, up to 3,224.64, rebounding from falling nearly 1% on Wednesday.
** Leading the gains, Internet giant Naver and mobile messaging operator Kakao jumped 4.18% and 3.49% respectively. Among other heavyweights, tech giant Samsung Electronics slipped 0.12%, while its counterpart SK Hynix rose 0.41%.
** Foreigners became net buyers of 699.9 billion won ($ 627.56 million) of shares on the main board, ending a three-day selling frenzy.
** The US Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index report, due later Thursday, will provide more insight into inflation and the Federal Reserve’s stance on monetary policy.
** “Inflation concerns appear to have eased … The focus is on releasing US inflation data later in the day ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)”, said Na Jeong-hwan, analyst at Cape Investment & Securities.
** The won closed at 1,115.8 to the dollar on the onshore settlement platform, down 0.04% from its previous close at 1,115.4.
** In offshore trading, the won was listed at 1,115.4 to the dollar, unchanged from the previous day, while in undeliverable futures trading, its one-month contract was listed at 1,115.0 .
** In money and debt markets, June three-year Treasury bond futures fell 0.11 points to 110.89.
** The most liquid 3-year Korean Treasury bond yield increased 15.4 basis points to 1.291%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell 1.5 basis points to 2.089%. ($ 1 = 1,115,2800 won) (Reporting by Joori Roh; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)