South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, taking a cue from overnight Wall Street gains over global recovery hopes.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 53.49 points, or 1.76 percent, to 3,085.17 in the first 20 minutes of trading.

Stocks came to a strong start, led by chemical and auto gains. The gains were largely attributed to speculations that the upcoming US administration would increase stimulus and spending.

Samsung Electronics added 1.93 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix advanced 1.12 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor surged 12.62 percent, and leading chemical company LG Chem jumped 3.85 percent.

Internet portal Naver inched up 0.86 percent, and its rival Kakao rose 1.49 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,093.05 won against the US dollar, down 5.75 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)