South Korean stocks opened higher Friday due mainly to investor sentiment being boosted by better-than-expected economic data from the United States, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 15.09 points, or 0.79 percent, to 1,935.83 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Shares gathered ground across the board, with Samsung Electronics adding 1.02 percent and leading carmaker Hyundai Motor climbing 2.16 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO moved up 0.76 percent.

The U.S. Institute for Supply Management (ISM) index, a key barometer of the country's manufacturing activity, came to 55.4 in July, hovering far above the market expectation of 52.

A reading of 50 or above represents an expansion of the sector from the previous month while a reading of below 50 represents a contraction.

The local currency was trading at 1,125.75 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 2.25 won from Thursday's close. (Yonhap News)