South Korean shares rise as chipmakers track US peers

KOSPI rises, foreigners net buyers Korean won weakens against dollar South Korea benchmark bond yield falls SEOUL, Sept 18 (Reuters) — Round-up of South Korean financial markets: * South Korean shares rose sharply on Friday, as chipmakers tracked overnight gains in US peers, while investors kept an eye on the Bank of Japan's policy decision due later in the day. * The benchmark KOSPI was up 121.10 points, or 1.80%, at 6,836.51 as of 0130 GMT. * For the week, it has fallen 0.9%, after rising 3.3% last week. * Wall Street bounced back on Thursday as easing oil prices, dropping US Treasury yields and solid labor data helped markets move beyond the Federal Reserve's first interest rate hike in more than three years..N * The Bank of Japan is set to raise interest rates to a 31-year high on Friday and pledge more to counter inflation risks, which may heighten if the start of a U.S. rate-hike cycle weakens the yen against the dollar. * Chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 2.28% and peer SK Hynix gained 4.30%, after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 3.1% on Thursday. * Among other index heavyweights, battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 0.55%, while Hyundai Motor and sister automake