Kospi inches up 0.56% after U.S. stocks bounce back

Screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows stock markets open on Thursday. [YONHAP]

Shares opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street.

The Kospi gained 14.7 points, or 0.56 percent, to 2,635.12 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The U.S. stock market gained ground overnight after a sharp decline the previous day following hotter-than-expected inflation data.

Investors had been expecting the U.S. Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates this year amid hope for eased inflation. But January's consumer price index report threw cold water on that anticipation.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics rose 0.14 percent and SK hynix advanced 0.81 percent.

LG Energy Solution climbed 1.55 percent. Samsung SDI gained 1.29 percent. POSCO Future M soared 4.38 percent.

IT giants also gained ground, with Naver rising 2.72 percent and Kakao shooting up more than 10 percent on record sales in the fourth quarter.

But auto shares lost ground.

Hyundai Motor retreated 1.22 percent and Kia declined 0.85 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,332.20 won against the dollar, down 3.2 won from the previous session's close.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG, YONHAP [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]