South Korean stocks opened higher Monday following gains late last week on Wall Street that were buoyed by sound employment data, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 7.8 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,403.25 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

On Friday (local time), US stocks closed higher, with the Dow adding 0.30 percent and the S&P 500 gaining 0.19 percent after a strong US July payrolls report.

Most large caps on the Seoul bourse were mixed, with tech and chemical shares leading the gain.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics inched up 0.17 percent, and global chipmaker SK hynix was up 0.94 percent. LG Chem, the country's top chemical firm, added 1.69 percent, and No. 2 player Lotte Chemical increased 1.27 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,126.60 won against the US dollar, down 3.6 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)