South Korean stocks opened steeply higher Thursday, backed by eased uncertainties from the FOMC meeting results.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 25.88 points, or 0.87 percent, to 3,015.27 points in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Stocks advanced, largely as the FOMC results, particularly the Fed's stimulus withdrawal and interest rate hike, stayed within the market expectation.

The Fed said it would double the speed of its tapering of bond purchasing program and projected three rate hikes in 2022. The Fed also expected that there could be two rate hikes each in 2023 and 2024.

Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite jumped 2.15 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 1.08 percent.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics gained 0.77 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix added 0.81 percent.

Internet portal operator Naver moved 1.42 percent, and pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics advanced 3.76 percent on the country's record virus cases.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor climbed 1.2 percent, and leading chemical firm LG Chem increased 2.01 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,183 won to the US dollar, up 2.2 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)