Korean stocks started higher on Wednesday, led by gains in tech firms and automakers, bucking overnight falls in Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 7.04 points, or 0.36 percent, to 1,969.78 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Market heavyweights traded mixed, with top player Samsung Electronics rising 2.14 percent.

Hyundai Motor, the nation's leading automaker, rose 0.69 percent.

State-run Korea Electric Power Corp. suffered 0.62 percent fall, and top steelmaker POSCO was up 0.91 percent.

U.S. stocks finished in negative terrain on Tuesday (local time), as investors locked in recent gains amid concerns over corporate earnings.

The local currency was trading at 1,158.65 against the U.S. dollar, down 3.55 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)