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

South Korean stocks started higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street driven by US President Donald Trump's softer-than-expected tone in trade policies.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 14.95 points, or 0.59 percent, to 2,532.98 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

In the United States, major stock indexes finished higher as Trump warned of imposing tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods from Feb. 1 but stopped short of laying out detailed plans and other protectionist policies against trade partners.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.24 percent, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.64 percent.

In Seoul, tech, battery and bio shares began in positive territory.

Top online portal operator Naver advanced 1.96 percent, and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 0.71 percent.

Major pharmaceuticals firm Samsung Biologics surged 3.1 percent, while leading shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean went up 0.55 percent.

Chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix remained flat.

The local currency was trading at 1,431.75 won against the US dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 7.75 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)