South Korean stocks opened higher Monday on gains on Wall Street, as strong US economic data fueled hopes of a quick global economic rebound from the pandemic.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 7.25 points, or 0.23 percent, to reach 3,193.35 points in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The strong start followed Friday's gains on Wall Street, which got a boost from estimate-beating US new home sales data.

The Dow Industrial Average gained 0.67 percent, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 advancing 1.44 percent and 1.09 percent, respectively.

In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics slipped 0.12 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix shed 1.13 percent.

Internet portal operator Naver and its rival Kakao traded flat, while giant pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics edged up 0.12 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor declined 0.23 percent, while leading chemical firm LG Chem retreated 0.57 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,115.95 won against the US dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 1.85 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)