South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, taking a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 9.28 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,321.02 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

On Tuesday, US stocks rose to post a four-day winning streak.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.21 percent, to 20,937.91 and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.08 percent, to 6,138.71. 

Large caps on the Seoul bourse were mostly bullish, with tech and medical shares leading the gains.

Market kingpin Samsung Electronics inched up 0.09 percent and its smaller rival LG Electronics added 0.99 percent to hit a record high. Chipmaker SK hynix also jumped 2.36 percent.

Auto shares were mixed. Industry leader Hyundai Motor lost 0.59 percent while its sister company Kia Motors edged up 0.13 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,124.40 won against the US dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 0.20 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)