South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, taking a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 13.77 points, or 0.68 percent, to 2,044.97 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The gains were led by the US tech stock rally overnight, triggered by global chipmaker Micron Technology Inc.'s estimate-beating earnings guidance, analysts said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 553.16 points, or 2.21 percent, to close at 25,548.27 on Thursday (New York time). The tech-rich NASDAQ finished up 0.77 percent at 9,412.36.

In Seoul, most large caps traded higher.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 1.20 percent and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix jumped 2.95 percent.

Leading automaker Hyundai Motor advanced 0.31 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors climbed 0.47 percent.

Internet portal giant Naver added 0.88 percent, with its local rival Kakao up 0.77 percent.

Top pharmaceutical firm Samsung BioLogics slid 0.16 percent, while leading chemical maker LG Chem gained 1.26 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,237.85 won against the US dollar, down 3.45 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)