South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, tracking overnight rallies on Wall Street that stemmed from optimism over jobless data.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 6.6 points, or 0.2 percent, to trade at 3,282.73 points in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The Kospi got off to a solid start on bio and financial gains.

Overnight, the S&P 500 gained 0.6 percent to close at a record high, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite both advancing 0.78 percent.

In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics traded flat, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix decreased 0.83 percent.

Internet portal operator Naver moved up 0.34 percent, with giant pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics advancing 1.1 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor edged up 0.22 percent, but leading chemical firm LG Chem lost 0.35 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,142.1 won against the U.S. dollar, up 1.6 percent from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)