South Korean stocks opened almost flat Thursday as investors remained cautious over a possible tapering of U.S. quantitative easing, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 0.35 points, or 0.02 percent, to 1,987.15 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Blue-chip shares edged up, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics adding 0.28 percent and No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor rising 0.64 percent. Leading steelmaker POSCO gained 0.45 percent.

Builders traded bearish, with Hyundai Engineering & Construction falling 1.13 percent and Daewoo Engineering & Construction moving down 1.21 percent. Daelim Industrial shed 0.21 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,060.95 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 0.45 won from Wednesday's close. (Yonhap News)