South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, taking a cue from U.S. stock rallies over stimulus hopes.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 12.88 points, or 0.54 percent, to 2,399.82 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Local stocks got off to a strong start, bolstered by optimistic signals by US House speaker Nancy Pelosi over an airline-relief bill in talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Investor appetite for risk also hiked on the back of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes, as some of the committee members implied openness to increasing the asset-buying program to support the pandemic-hit economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.91 percent to close at 28,303.46 on Wednesday (New York time). The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.88 percent, and the S&P 500 gained 1.74 percent.

Most large caps traded higher in Seoul.

Market kingpin Samsung Electronics rose 0.5 percent, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gaining 0.6 percent.

Internet portal giant Naver shed 0.49 percent, but its rival Kakao added 1.05 percent.

Leading chemical maker LG Chem advanced up 0.44 percent, and rechargeable battery maker Samsung SDI climbed 0.57 percent.

Top pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics remained flat, and Celltrion jumped 2.5 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,157.2 won to the US dollar, up 1 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)