South Korean stocks opened higher Friday as the country's central bank was set to hold a rate-setting meeting later in the day.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.68 percent, or 17.55 points, to 2,616.71 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Investors' eyes are on the results of the Bank of Korea's monetary policy meeting to be held later in the day, where it is widely expected to start its rate-cutting cycle.

Overnight, Wall Street lost ground amid mixed bets on whether the US Federal Reserve will move for another rate cut in November.

Data released Thursday showed US core inflation was hotter than expected and the labor market was slowing down.

In Seoul, tech behemoth Samsung Electronics rose 1.19 percent and its chipmaking rival SK hynix increased 0.96 percent.

Battery and auto shares also kicked off in positive territory.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution added 0.35 percent and its smaller rival Samsung SDI soared 4.19 percent. Posco Future M jumped 2.57 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia were up 0.81 percent and 0.89 percent, respectively.

Financial shares also gained ground, with Shinhan Financial up 1.23 percent and Meritz Financial up 1.2 percent.

Trading firm Samsung C&T advanced 2.04 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,349.80 won against the dollar, up 0.4 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)