South Korean shares opened higher Thursday due to an overnight tech rally on Wall Street, despite concerns over the rising new COVID-19 cases in the country.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 32.36 points, or 1.42 percent, to 2,306.58 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Stocks traded choppy as a recent spike in South Korea's daily new COVID-19 cases sparked concerns of a lockdown.

The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.73 percent to close at 11,665.06 points on Wednesday (New York time). The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 percent, and the S&P 500 advanced 1.02 percent.

Large caps traded mixed in Seoul.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 0.71 percent, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix climbed 0.89 percent.

Internet portal giant Naver rose 2.69 percent, and its rival Kakao jumped 3.83 percent.

Top pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics shed 0.25 percent, and Celltrion retreated 0.16 percent.

Leading chemical maker LG Chem gained 1.32 percent, and rechargeable battery maker Samsung SDI advanced 2.41 percent.

Hyundai Motor, the country's largest automaker, stayed flat, while top steelmaker POSCO lost 0.58 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,185.35 won against the US dollar, up 1.45 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)