South Korean shares opened sharply higher Tuesday on hopes for an economic rebound, as well as slowing new coronavirus infections in the United States.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 28.17 points, or 1.27 percent, to 2,246.03 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Investor sentiment ran high on large-scale stimulus plans in the US and Europe.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.43 percent on Monday (New York time), with the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite up 1.67 percent and S&P 500 advancing 0.74 percent.

A sharp drop in the number of new virus cases in South Korea, as well as a slowdown in daily infections in the US, helped boost investor sentiment.

South Korea added 25 new cases on Monday, down from 58 new virus cases reported Sunday and a four-month high of 113 on Saturday.

In Seoul, most large caps traded higher.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics jumped 2.7 percent, with No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gaining 0.97 percent.

Top pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics advanced 1.99 percent, and leading chemical maker LG Chem climbed 2.13 percent.

The country's largest automaker, Hyundai Motor, shed 0.4 percent, while leading steelmaker POSCO added 1.02 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,192.35 won against the US dollar, up 3.75 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)