South Korean shares opened higher Friday, buoyed by strong advances by tech and auto heavyweights, despite overnight falls on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had added 25.64 points, or 0.99 percent, to trade at 2,617.98 points as of 9:15 a.m.

On Thursday, the index dipped 1.28 percent.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite declined, largely on continued pressure on inflation hikes.

KOSPI's top cap Samsung Electronics moved up 0.89 percent, and battery giant LG Energy Solution grew 2.29 percent.

No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix advanced 0.9 percent, and the country's largest automaker Hyundai Motor added 1.65 percent. Chemical heavyweight LG Chem jumped 3.39 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,267.9 won against the US dollar, up 9.8 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)