South Korean stocks started a tad higher Monday on gains from tech and battery shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 8.46 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,757.02 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech and battery heavyweights led the upbeat start. Samsung Electronics, the world's No. 1 memory chipmaker, rose 0.51 percent and its rival SK hynix increased 1.53 percent. Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution edged up 0.12 percent, and Samsung SDI went up 2.75 percent. But top online portal operator Naver fell 0.9 percent, and leading retailer Lotte Shopping lost 0.81 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,343.5 won against the U.S. dollar, down 5.1 won from the previous session's close. Source: Yonhap News Agency
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