South Korean stocks opened marginally higher Monday amid continued concerns over the U.S. Federal Reserve's additional rate hikes.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 4.59 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,531.3 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
All U.S. stock indexes finished lower Friday (U.S. time) amid woes over the Fed's additional rate hikes.
In Seoul, big-cap shares opened mixed.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics shed 0.43 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix traded flat. Leading chemical producer LG Chem went down 0.76 percent.
Market leader LG Energy Solution lost 0.89 percent, and its smaller rival Samsung SDI slid 0.86 percent.
Top automakers Hyundai Motor and Kia also retreated 0.49 percent and 0.46 percent, respectively.
Among gainers, POSCO Holdings, the country's top steelmaker, rose 1 percent and POSCO Future M, POSCO's industrial materials unit, surged 3.39 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,300.9 won against the U.S. dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 4.1 won from the previous session's close.
Source: Yonhap News Agency