South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains by US big tech shares.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 9.05 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,714.37 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The US stock market closed mixed overnight as investors remained cautious about the conclusion of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, set to end Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 0.31 percent to close at 38,747.42, but the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.88 percent to reach a new high of 17,343.55.

In Seoul, most large caps started off in positive terrain, with market kingpin Samsung Electronics gaining 0.40 percent and the world's No.2 chipmaker SK hynix 0.47 percent.

Top battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 0.42 percent, while its local rival Samsung SDS added 0.13 percent.

Leading cosmetics firm Amorepacific surged 4.15 percent, with top pharmaceutical firm Celltrion advancing 0.21 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor shed 0.55 percent, but its smaller affiliate Kia Motors was up 0.41 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,379.35 won against the US dollar, down 0.95 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)