South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, tracking Wall Street gains overnight, as concerns about turmoil in the global banking sector have eased.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 7.12 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,460.28 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, US shares rose as investors await the US inflation data to be released later in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.43 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite grew 0.73 percent.

In Seoul, top-cap shares traded mixed.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics jumped 0.95 percent, while chip giant SK hynix decreased 0.23 percent.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution sank 0.85 percent, and Samsung SDI inched down 0.14 percent.

But LG Chem added 0.14 percent.

Carmakers rose, with No. 1 automaker Hyundai Motor climbing 1.32 percent and its affiliate Kia advancing 1.13 percent.

Internet giant Naver shed 0.7 percent, but Kakao, the operator of the popular mobile messenger KakaoTalk, edged up 0.17 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,297.1 won against the US dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 1.9 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)