South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Wednesday as investors cashed in profits following a sharp gain in the previous session over economic recovery hopes.

After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 0.14 point or 0.01 percent to 2,228.97 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Seoul shares closed up 1.4 percent Tuesday as investor sentiment was boosted by a European Union economic stimulus deal and hopes for coronavirus vaccines.

Overnight, Wall Street closed mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.81 percent.

In Seoul, most large caps started mixed.

Market kingpin Samsung Electronics fell 0.18 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix declined 0.71 percent.

Power plant builder Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction jumped 23.5 percent on expectations that it may benefit from the government's Green New Deal initiative.

Top steelmaker POSCO gained 1.31 percent despite its weak second-quarter earnings.

The local currency was trading at 1,193.60 won to the US dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 4.2 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)