* KOSPI rises, foreigners net buyers

* Korean won strengthens against dollar

* South Korea benchmark bond yield falls

* For the midday report, please click

SEOUL, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean shares edged up on Tuesday as trading resumed after the Christmas holiday, following an eighth straight week of gains last week on optimism over Federal Reserve interest rate cuts next year. The won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

** The benchmark KOSPI closed up 3.08 points, or 0.12%, at 2,602.59. ** Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 0.92% and peer SK Hynix gained 0.21%, while battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 0.95%.

** Hyundai Motor shed 0.10% and sister automaker Kia Corp gained 0.73%, while search engine Naver and instant messenger Kakao were up 0.23% and down 0.76%, respectively.

** Of the total 939 traded issues, 380 shares advanced, while 494 declined.

** Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 78.1 billion won on the main board on Tuesday.

** The won ended onshore trade at 1,294.5 per dollar, 0.66% higher than its previous close at 1,303.0.

** In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,293.9 per dollar, up 0.1% on the day, while in non-deliverable forward trading, its one-month contract was quoted at 1,291.3.

** The KOSPI has risen 16.37% so far this year and gained 7.9% in the previous 30 trading sessions.

** The won has lost 2.3% against the dollar so far this year.

** In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.01 point to 105.18.

** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 1.2 basis points to 3.223%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 3.5 basis points to 3.273%. (Reporting by Cynthia Kim; Editing by Sohini Goswami)