S.Korean stocks rise on firmer Asian markets, economic recovery hopes

    * KOSPI rises, foreigners net buyers
    * Korean won strengthens against U.S. dollar
    * South Korea benchmark bond yield falls

    SEOUL, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean
financial markets:
    
    ** South Korean shares gained on Tuesday, tracking Asian
markets that rose on hopes of a coronavirus vaccine, with upbeat
Chinese economic data aiding sentiment. The won gained, while
the benchmark bond yield fell.
    
    ** By 0235 GMT, the benchmark KOSPI         rose 12.66
points, or 0.52%, to 2,440.57.
    
    ** Asian equities took cues from a higher finish overnight
on Wall Street, while data showed China's industrial output
expanded for a fifth straight month in August and retail sales
grew for the first time this year.                         

    ** Investors' focus is on central banks. The U.S. Federal
Reserve starts its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, while the
Bank of Japan and the Bank of England will announce their policy
decisions later this week.
    
    ** Meanwhile, cases of the novel coronavirus in South Korea
steadily fell since the government imposed unprecedented social
distancing curbs, with the country reporting 106 new infections
as of Tuesday.
    
    ** Foreigners were net buyers of 49.2 billion won ($41.66
million) worth of shares on the main board.
    
    ** The won was quoted at 1,180.7 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform           , 0.24% higher than its previous
close at 1,183.5.
    
    ** In offshore trading, the won        was quoted at 1,180.9
per dollar, while in non-deliverable forward trading, its
one-month contract               was quoted at 1,180.5.
    
    ** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside
Japan                 was up 1.06%.
    
    ** In money and debt markets, September futures on
three-year treasury bonds         rose 0.07 point to 111.95.
    
    ** The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by
1.5 basis points to 0.906%, while the benchmark 10-year yield
fell by 1.2 basis points to 1.506%.

($1 = 1,180.8700 won)

 (Reporting by Joori Roh; editing by Uttaresh.V)