Korean stocks open slightly higher amid earnings woes

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows stock and foreign exchange markets open on Thursday. [NEWS1]

Seoul stocks opened slightly higher Thursday as investors brace for earnings reports from major companies.

The benchmark Kospi rose 7.26 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,435.83 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The local stock market opened higher despite lackluster trading on Wall Street overnight.

The S&P 500 inched down 0.02 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.03 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed 0.18 percent lower than the previous session.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics was up 0.32 percent, while SK hynix was down 0.55 percent.

Automaker Hyundai Motor added 1.75 percent, bio firm Samsung Biologics retreated 0.5 percent, and portal operator Naver declined 0.25 percent.

The local currency had been trading at 1,231.6 won against the dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 0.1 won from Wednesday's close.

Yonhap