South Korean shares opened sharply higher Friday on overnight tech gains on Wall Street, bucking concerns over the recent hike in new coronavirus outbreaks.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 32.36 points, or 1.42 percent, to 2,306.58 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The index got off to a strong start after a 3.66 percent plunge in the previous session.

The Nasdaq Composite soared 1.06 percent to 11,264.95 points on Thursday (New York time), led by gains in top heavyweights, including Apple, Microsoft and Tesla.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 added 0.17 percent and 0.32 percent, respectively.

In Seoul, most large caps traded higher.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 1.99 percent, with No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix adding 2.09 percent.

Top pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics climbed 0.76 percent, while Celltrion shed 0.49 percent.

Leading chemical maker LG Chem jumped 3.3 percent, and rechargeable battery maker Samsung SDI advanced 1.45 percent.

Internet portal giant Naver rose 1.96 percent, with its rival Kakao up 1.51 percent.

Hyundai Motor, the country's largest automaker, advanced 2.26 percent, and top steelmaker POSCO added 1.79 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,183.85 won against the US dollar, up 3.05 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)