South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Thursday, as investors took a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street amid eased concerns over the pace of the interest rate hike in the United States.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index  jumped 22.06 points, or 1.03 percent, to 2,155.06 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The US stocks rose sharply overnight after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates as expected without accelerating its timeline for further tightening.

The US central bank raised its target rate by 25 basis points to between 0.75 and 1.00 percent, and did not hint at accelerating the pace of monetary tightening.

Most large caps traded higher, with market kingpin Samsung Electronics rising 0.72 percent.

SK hynix, a major chipmaker, advanced 0.82 percent.

POSCO, the country's leading steelmaker, was 3.6 percent higher, and Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, rose 1.34 percent.

AmorePacific, the leading cosmetics maker, climbed 1.44 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,131.70 won against the US dollar, up 11.9 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)