Seoul: South Korean stocks started a tad higher Tuesday following the previous day's rally. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 5.11 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,474.18 in the first 15 minutes of trading. According to Yonhap News Agency, the main index had jumped 2.16 percent on Monday, marking the sharpest daily gain since September 26, driven by a rally in chipmakers, including Samsung Electronics. In contrast, the United States markets saw mixed results, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.13 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rising 0.6 percent. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 0.53 percent, while LG Electronics advanced 1.33 percent. Steel giant POSCO Holdings increased 0.34 percent, and tech leader Naver went up 1.68 percent. However, chip giant SK hynix experienced a decline of 1.81 percent, and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution dropped 0.13 percent. The local currency had been trading at 1,393.3 won against the greenback as of 9:15 a.m., up 1.9 won from the previous session.