An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Monday. (Yonhap)
An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Monday. (Yonhap)

South Korean stocks opened a tad higher Monday ahead of the inauguration of US President Donald Trump.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 10.8 points, or 0.43 percent, to 2,534.35 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Trump is set to take office later in the day for his second four-year term with his inauguration ceremony in Washington, D.C.

He has warned of protectionist trade policies, including higher tariffs, after his inauguration.

In Seoul, major shares started in mixed territory.

Top-cap Samsung Electronics and its chipmaking rival SK hynix remained flat.

Steelmaker POSCO Holdings gained 3.85 percent, and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution added 2.57 percent.

However, top carmaker Hyundai Motor dropped 0.47 percent, and Hanmi Semiconductor, a major chip equipment manufacturer, declined 1.24 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,457.9 won against the US dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 0.4 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)