Seoul shares slightly up ahead of Donald Trump inauguration

Seoul, Jan 20 (IANS) South Korean stocks opened a tad higher on Monday ahead of the inauguration of US President Donald Trump as 47th President.

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

Trump was set to take office for his second four-year term with his inauguration ceremony in Washington, DC.

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 per cent, and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution added 2.57 per cent.

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

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.

Meanwhile, foreign currency deposits rose for the first time in three months in December as companies boosted dollar holdings amid heightened uncertainties, the central bank said on Monday.

Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents came to $101.3 billion as of end-December, up $2.87 billion from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The figure had fallen for the preceding two months due mainly to sagging corporate demand for U.S. dollar-denominated deposits amid the marked weakening of the Korean won.

Residents include local citizens, foreigners who have stayed in South Korea for more than six months and foreign companies. The data excludes interbank foreign currency deposits.

December's increase came as companies secured a larger amount of fund deposits for import settlements, investment and other purposes while navigating uncertainties at home and abroad, the BOK said.