* KOSPI rises, foreigners net buyers
* Korean won strengthens against U.S. dollar
* South Korea benchmark bond yield rises
* For the midday report, please click
SEOUL, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
** South Korean shares ended higher on Friday, as strong buying by foreign investors offset more hawkish-than-expected moves from major central banks, while Omicron coronavirus variant fears also weighed on sentiment.
** Both the won and the benchmark bond yield rose.
** The benchmark KOSPI closed up 11.32 points, or 0.38%, at 3,017.73, extending gains to a third straight day.
** It rose 0.25% on a weekly basis, marking the third week of gains.
** Among heavyweights, chip giant Samsung Electronics rose 0.26%, while peer SK Hynix fell 1.61%. Platform company Naver slid 0.77%.
** The Bank of England surprised markets with a rate hike, while the European Central Bank trimmed its super-sized bond buying program, adopting more hawkish stances than expected.
** The country will reinstate stricter social distancing rules from Saturday, limiting private gatherings and working hours of businesses, as it continued to report near record daily virus cases.
** The government will prepare a new 4.3 trillion won ($3.6 billion) stimulus package to help support small-sized and self-employed businesses hurt by the tougher COVID-19 curbs.
** On the main KOSPI board, foreigners bought net 509.8 billion won ($431.02 million) worth of shares.
** The won ended at 1,180.9 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.25% higher than its previous close.
** In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,182.7 per dollar, up 0.3% from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,182.2.
** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds was unchanged at 109.28.
** The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 0.7 basis points to 1.773%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 0.9 basis points to 2.156%. ($1 = 1,182.7800 won) (Reporting by Joori Roh; Editing by Rashmi Aich)