South Korean stocks opened higher Friday due to gains on Wall Street in the previous trading session amid improved industry data, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 2.75 points, or 0.14 percent, to 1,954.40 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
Shares gathered ground across the board, with No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor rising 1.64 percent and top steelmaker POSCO rising 0.46 percent. Leading auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis advanced 0.18 percent.
U.S. stocks closed higher Thursday on better-than-expected data for the country's service sector, with the Dow Jones industrial average adding 0.04 percent and tech-laden NASDAQ composite index adding 0.27 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,096.40 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 2.00 won from Thursday's close. (Yonhap News)
