South Korean stocks opened higher Monday, tracking gains on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 12.23 points, or 0.65 percent, to 1,901.24 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

On Friday (local time), US stocks ended higher as investor sentiment was boosted by the progress in a coronavirus relief package. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.11 percent, the S&P 500 added 1.39 percent, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 1.65 percent.

Most large-cap shares on the Seoul bourse traded in mixed terrain.

Major chipmaker SK hynix added 0.61 percent, No. 1 portal operator Naver was up 1.04 percent, and major pharmaceutical firm Samsung BioLogics gained 0.17 percent.

In contrast, top cap Samsung Electronics lost 0.2 percent, and No. 1 chem firm LG Chem was down 0.42 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,233.6 won against the US dollar, up 1.9 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)