South Korean shares opened higher Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street helped by hopes of an economic recovery.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6.64 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,157.82 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The gain was mainly attributed to hopes for an economic recovery, fueled by the European Central Bank's announcement to additionally purchase assets to fight the economic fallout from the new coronavirus.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 11.93 points, or 0.05 percent, to close at 26,281.82 on Thursday (New York time).

Large caps traded mixed.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 0.92 percent, with No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix soaring 1.6 percent.

Top pharmaceutical firm Samsung BioLogics slipped 0.15 percent, while leading chemical maker LG Chem spiked 3.47 percent.

Internet portal giant Naver plunged 2.37 percent, with its local rival Kakao sliding 2.36 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,216.30 won against the US dollar, up 2.4 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)