Seoul shares open higher on U.S. gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased 5.21 points, or 0.26 percent, to 2,005.22 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Shares gathered ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics adding 0.75 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix gaining 0.75 percent. No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor moved up 0.47 percent.

U.S. stocks ended higher Tuesday on reports that the Federal Reserve plans to maintain economic stimulus measures, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.84 percent and the NASDAQ composite index adding 0.43 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,086.85 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 1.15 won from Tuesday's close. (Yonhap News)