South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 23.92 points, or 0.90 percent, to 2,680.10 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.83 percent higher.
In Seoul, large caps traded mixed.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 1.10 percent, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix remained flat.
Top battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 0.50 percent, with its local rival Samsung SDI shedding 0.33 percent.
Leading automaker Hyundai Motor surged 2.95 percent, with its smaller affiliate Kia Motors advancing 0.34 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,338.20 won against the US dollar, up 1.60 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)