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KOSPI falls, foreigners net sellers

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Korean won strengthens against dollar

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South Korea benchmark bond yield falls

SEOUL, March 13 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean shares fell on Monday, weighed down by heightened uncertainty around the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the United States. The Korean won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield dropped.

** The benchmark KOSPI fell 18.92 points, or 0.79%, to 2,375.67, as of 0137 GMT.

** The finance-major index declined 0.76% and the securities-minor index dropped 0.44%. The Financial Supervisory Service said most local firms were well-positioned to withstand temporary shocks.

** U.S. authorities stepped in on Sunday with a series of emergency measures to shore up confidence in the banking system after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank threatened to trigger a broader systemic crisis.

** "The possibility of a broader credit risk is low, but investor sentiment is definitely hurt with higher uncertainty of both positive and negative macroeconomic implications," said analyst Park Kwang-nam at Mirae Asset Securities.

** South Korea's finance ministry and central bank said they were closely monitoring financial markets and vowed to take market-stabilising measures if needed.

** HYBE rose 2.01% after the K-Pop agency dropped its plan to take control of SM Entertainment, while takeover battle winner Kakao rose 1.55%. SM Entertainment dropped 18.13%.

** Technology giant Samsung Electronics fell 0.17% and peer SK Hynix lost 0.36%, while battery maker LG Energy Solution advanced 0.54%.

** Of the total 929 issues traded, only 57 shares rose.

** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 64.1 billion won ($48.68 million).

** The won was quoted at 1,315.0 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.70% higher than its previous close at 1,324.2.

** In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.49 point to 104.11.

** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 16.2 basis points to 3.537%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 9.4 basis points to 3.489%.

($1 = 1,316.6500 won) (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)