South Korean shares opened sharply higher Thursday, on the back of tech gains spurred by an overnight Wall Street rally.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 22.1 points, or 0.93 percent, to 2,386.47 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The strong start has the KOSPI poised to extend its winning streak for a third session.

Investor sentiment was boosted by advances of tech and health care heavyweights in the US stock markets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 454.84 points, or 1.59 percent, to close at 29,100.5 on Wednesday (New York time). The S&P 500 rose 1.54 percent, with the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite up 0.98 percent.

In Seoul, large caps traded mixed.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 2.94 percent, with No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix spiking 4.64 percent.

Internet portal giant Naver shed 0.75 percent, with its rival Kakao dipping 1.46 percent.

Leading chemical maker LG Chem jumped 3.37 percent, and EV battery maker Samsung SDI climbed 0.55 percent.

Top pharmaceutical company Samsung Biologics edged up 0.13 percent, while Celltrion shed 0.5 percent.

Hyundai Motor, the country's largest automaker, retreated 0.85 percent, and top steelmaker POSCO lost 0.53 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,187.95 won against the US dollar, down 2.55 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)