* KOSPI rises, foreigners net buyers
* Korean won weakens against U.S. dollar
* South Korea benchmark bond yield falls
* For the midday report, please click
SEOUL, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
** South Korean shares ended at a record high on Thursday, led by heavyweights, with a Democratic win in U.S. Senate elections in Georgia and economic recovery hopes boosting risk appetite. Both the won and the benchmark bond yield fell.
** The benchmark KOSPI closed up 63.47 points, or 2.14%, to 3,031.68, bouncing back from a 0.75% fall in the previous session.
** The index surpassed 3,000 for the first time on record on Wednesday, as investors driving the steepest rally in years look towards a broad recovery in exports beyond the country's tech titans.
** Chip giant Samsung Electronics rose as much as 2.43%, leading gains, ahead of its preliminary fourth-quarter earnings, where it is expected to report a 33% jump in profit.
** Peer SK Hynix rose 2.7%, while other heavyweights such as LG Chem and Hyundai Motor gained 8.1% and 1.5%, respectively.
** Democrats on Wednesday took two U.S. Senate seats up for grabs in runoff elections in Georgia, giving the party control of the chamber and boosting the prospects for President-elect Joe Biden's legislative agenda.
** Back home, South Korea reported 870 new coronavirus cases for Wednesday, government data showed, sharply down from the peak in recent weeks.
** Foreigners were net buyers of 110.1 billion won ($101.31 million) worth of shares on the main board.
** The won ended at 1,087.3 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.16% lower than its previous close.
** In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,086.7, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,086.0.
** The benchmark 10-year yield fell by 0.6 basis points to 1.725%. (Reporting by Joori Roh; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)