An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday. Yonhap)
An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday. Yonhap)

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday in line with overnight gains on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 23.89 points, or 0.96 percent, to 2,505.58 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, Wall Street stocks were buoyed by eased concerns over trade following US President Donald Trump's decision to pause impositions of tariffs on Canada and Mexico for a month,

The S&P 500 finished up 0.72 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.30 percent. The Nasdaq composite added 1.35 percent.

In Seoul, most blue chips traded higher, with market heavyweight Samsung Electronics rising 1.14 percent and chipmaking rival SK hynix also up 2.09 percent.

Battery and automotive shares also advanced. LG Energy Solution climbed 2.55 percent, and Hyundai Motor added 1 percent.

Kakao Bank jumped 2.35 percent after reporting record earnings, while internet technology service provider LG CNS, which made its stock market debut, dropped 6.14 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,455.20 won against the US dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 7.70 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)