South Korean shares opened slightly higher Monday, taking a cue from Wall Street gains.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 15.92 points, or 0.61 percent, to 2,612.83 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The rise follows gains on Wall Street last week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.97 percent higher Friday (US time), with the tech-heavy Nasdaq advancing 0.33 percent.

In Seoul, large caps traded mixed.

Market kingpin and tech giant Samsung Electronics advanced 1.35 percent, with its chipmaking rival SK hynix surging 2.42 percent.

Leading battery market LG Energy Solution lost 1.34 percent, while its smaller local rival Samsung SDI plunged 3.22 percent.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor added 1.01 percent, while its smaller affiliate Kia Motors rose 0.40 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,353.60 won against the US dollar, down 3.1 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)