SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks got off to a strong start on Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street underpinned by a European Central Bank (ECB) plan to support the region's struggling lenders, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 49.68 points, or 2.9 percent, to 1,760 as of 9:15 a.m.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 2.69 percent on estimated better-than-expected third quarter operating profit.

Hana Financial Group soared 6.2 percent as Hana Bank is likely to take over Korea Exchange Bank following a high court decision to convict Lone Star Fund's former head of stock manipulation.

U.S. stocks rallied as the ECB's supportive move gave investors hope that the regions financial crisis was easing. The Dow Jones industrial average went up 1.7 percent and the Nasdaq composite index rose 1.9 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,181.8 won to the greenback as of 9:15 a.m., 9.5 won up from Thursday's close.