Korean shares opened higher Thursday as an earnings surprise from tech giant Samsung Electronics boosted investor sentiment here.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 16.65 points, or 0.85 percent, to 1,969.77 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The sharp increase came as Samsung said its Q2 operating income was estimated at 8.1 trillion won ($6.99 billion), greatly surpassing the earlier market consensus of 7.32 trillion won.

On Wednesday, the local stock market plunged 1.85 percent, joining many other global peers in a downward movement.

Led by top cap Samsung Electronics, tech shares and most large caps were in positive terrain.

Samsung added 0.70 percent, and global chipmaker SK hynix spiked 1.80 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor jumped 1.54 percent, while its smaller affiliate Kia Motors also advanced 1.21 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,158.45 won against the U.S. dollar, up 7.15 won from Wednesday's close. (Yonhap)