South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, as investors digested the US Federal Reserve's pause in raising the interest rates and its signal that there still will be more rate hikes in the coming months.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 12.08 points, or 0.46 percent, to 2,631.16 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The Fed held the interest rates steady in the range of 5.00 percent to 5.25 percent in its policy meeting Wednesday, the first such pause in the series of rate hikes that had continued for the past 15 months to tame runaway inflation.

Yet the US central bank signaled more rate hikes to come by the end of this year as monetary tightening needs to be maintained, citing the persistent inflation.

In Seoul, shares gathered ground across the board, led by large-cap tech and materials companies.

Market behemoth Samsung Electronics rose 0.3 percent, and top battery maker LG Energy Solution advanced 1.4 percent. Posco Future M, a battery components maker, gained 1.6 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,276.20 won against the US dollar at around 9:15 a.m., up 2.3 won from Wednesday's close. (Yonhap)