South Korean shares opened higher Friday, tracking overnight gains in Wall Street after Britain suspended a campaign on the European Union membership following a lawmaker's death.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 16.38 points, or 0.84 percent, to 1,968.37 in the first 15 minutes of trading. 


Most large caps traded bullish.

Market kingpin Samsung Electronics gained 0.99 percent, and top automaker Hyundai Motor increased 1.12 percent.

Korea Electric Power Corp., the state-run power provider, rose 0.69 percent, and leading cosmetics maker AmorePacific went up 0.73 percent.

U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday after a pro-European Union British lawmaker was shot dead in street, causing a temporary suspension of campaigning for next week's vote on EU membership, a key issue that rattled the global financial market.

The local currency was trading at 1,168.2 won against the U.S. dollar, up 3.2 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)