South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, taking a cue from overnight gains in US markets.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 10.1 points, or 0.43 percent, to 2,359.65 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Seoul shares closed up 1.01 percent Tuesday on investors' bargain hunting and the government's record budget proposal for next year.

Wall Street ended higher Tuesday on the back of a tech rally.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.39 percent to hit a record closing high.

Market kingpin Samsung Electronics rose 1.1 percent despite the news that prosecutors indicted Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong on Tuesday for his role in a controversial merger and alleged accounting fraud.

No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix added 0.13 percent.

But top auto maker Hyundai Motor fell 1.67 percent, and its affiliate Kia Motors lost 1.16 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,185.40 won to the US dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 2.4 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)