* KOSPI flat, foreigners net sellers
* Korean won slightly up against dollar
* South Korea benchmark bond yield steady
SEOUL, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
** South Korean shares were steady on Thursday as investors took a cautious approach ahead of U.S. employment data due this week and on persistent market anxiety from a U.S. credit downgrade.
** The Korean won edged higher, while the benchmark bond yield was flat.
** The benchmark KOSPI held its ground at 2,616.56, as of 0140 GMT, after fluctuating between gains of 0.34% and a 0.52% drop.
** U.S. private payrolls rose more than expected in July as small businesses boosted hiring, data showed on Wednesday, ahead of the government's official employment data due later in the week.
** "The market is stabilising after a sharp drop the day before on a credit rating downgrade on the U.S. government," said Huh Jae-hwan, an analyst at Eugene Investment Securities.
** Chipmaker Samsung Electronics was flat and peer SK Hynix lost 0.17%, but battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 1.29%.
** Hyundai Motor added 0.16% and its sister automaker Kia Corp gained 1.13%, but search engine Naver and instant messenger Kakao were down 2.42% and 0.38%, respectively.
** A few small-cap stocks rallied on excitement from a claim of a successful super-conductor development, which is being disputed by a scholar group.
** Of the total 933 issues traded, 263 shares rose.
** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 63.6 billion won ($49.06 million).
** The won was quoted at 1,295.9 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.20% higher than its previous close at 1,298.5.
** In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.04 point to 103.63.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose 0.6 basis point to 3.687%, while the benchmark 10-year yield climbed 0.1 basis point to 3.800%.
($1 = 1,296.3000 won) (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)