Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

 

** South Korean shares gained more than 1% on Thursday, led by chipmakers and automakers, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reaffirmed U.S. interest rates were still on course to be cut this year, though the timing was data dependent.

** The benchmark KOSPI closed up 35.04 points, or 1.29%, at 2,742.01, following its 1.68% drop on Wednesday.

** Fed officials including Powell on Wednesday continued focusing on the need for more debate and data before interest rates are cut, a move financial markets expect to occur in June.

** "Local chipmakers tracked U.S. peer Micron Technology's record-hitting rally, and their strength is expected to continue with the semiconductor industry turning a corner," Huh Jae-hwan, an analyst at Eugene Investment Securities, said.

** Samsung Electronics rose 1.43%, a day ahead of its preliminary earnings for the first quarter. The chipmaker is expected to post a near nine-fold increase in profit on rebounding semiconductor prices.

** SK Hynix jumped 4.91%, after the Nvidia supplier said it would invest around $3.87 billion to build an advanced packaging plant and research and development facility for artificial intelligence products in the U.S. state of Indiana.

** Among other index heavyweights, Hyundai Motor added 4.63% and its affiliate Kia Corp gained 4.81%.

** Of the total 931 traded issues, 418 shares advanced, while 468 declined.

** Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 587.6 billion won ($436.26 million) on the main board.

** The won ended onshore trade at 1,347.1 per dollar, 0.13% higher than its previous close at 1,348.9.

** In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.01 point to 104.72.

** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 0.8 basis point to 3.333%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 0.1 basis point to 3.454%. ($1 = 1,346.9000 won) (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)