SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - The South Korean won stayed steady against the dollar early on Monday as investors remained wary of potential dollar-buying intervention by the authorities, offsetting optimism about Asia's fourth-largest economy.

The won was quoted at 1,249.4/9.8 per dollar as of 0010 GMT, compared with Friday's domestic close of 1,249.6.

Seoul shares rose 0.24 percent as foreign investors bought a net 24.0 billion won ($19.28 million) worth of stocks on the main exchange.

Earlier, central bank data showed the country's key consumer sentiment index rose for the fourth consecutive month in July to the highest in nearly seven years.