South Korean shares end lower on caution ahead of US inflation data

KOSPI falls, foreigners net sellers Korean won strengthens against dollar South Korea benchmark bond yield rises For the midday report, please click... SEOUL, Oct 14 (Reuters) — Round-up of South Korean financial markets: * South Korean shares erased early gains to end lower on Wednesday, as caution prevailed ahead of US inflation data. * The benchmark KOSPI closed down 26.54 points, or 0.44%, at 6,008.81, extending its losing streak to a sixth consecutive session and marking its lowest close since July 30. * The index started the session higher on a rebound in chipmakers and gained as much as 2.6% before reversing course in afternoon trade. * Chipmaker Samsung Electronics ended unchanged, after rising more than 4% earlier in the session. Peer SK Hynix also erased early gains to end down 1.66%. * "The market fell after ASML's earnings amid cautious sentiment ahead of US inflation data," said Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities. * "ASML's results were positive, but investor expectations were even higher than those." ** ASML said AI-driven demand for its chip-printing tools is so strong that it will not be able to fully meet customer demand in 2027 or 2028 and it is