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

South Korean stocks finished lower for the third consecutive session Tuesday as investor sentiment was dragged down by a set of protectionist trade policies by US President Donald Trump on his first day in office. The Korean won rose to a one-month high against the US dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 2.02 points, or 0.08 percent, to close at 2,518.03, extending its losing streak to three sessions.

Trade volume was moderate at 565.7 million shares worth 9.2 trillion won ($6.38 billion), with decliners outnumbering winners 485 to 386.

Offshore investors dumped a net 173.5 billion won, offsetting a net purchase of 61.7 billion won and 55.2 billion won by institutions and individual investors, respectively.

On his first day in office on Monday, Trump emphasized the "America First" policy.

Trump said he plans to enact tariffs of up to 25 percent on Mexico and Canada at the beginning of February.

Later, he ordered federal agencies to review free trade deals, likely including the Korea-US free trade agreement, and assess the source of US trade deficits with foreign countries.

In Seoul, battery, metal and bio stocks drove the daily decline.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution sank 4.32 percent to 354,500 won, and Samsung SDI tumbled 3.9 percent to 234,000 won.

Steel giant POSCO Holdings slumped 4.8 percent to 258,000 won, and Korea Zinc, a leading non-ferrous metal smelter, plunged 8.55 percent to 759,000 won.

Major pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics retreated 1.38 percent to 1,001,000 won, and Celltrion dropped 0.55 percent to 179,700 won.

On the other hand, chipmakers finished higher as industry leader Samsung Electronics rose 0.19 percent to 53,500 won and SK hynix added 2.83 percent to 218,000 won.

The local currency was trading at 1,439.5 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., up 12.2 won from the previous session. It is the highest closing price at 3:30 p.m. since Dec. 20, when it hit 1,435.5 won. (Yonhap)