South Korean stocks opened higher Friday as investors' sentiment got a boost from improved economic indicators from the United States, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 12.14 points, or 0.64 percent, to 1,894.87 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Shares gathered ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics rising 1.18 percent and No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor adding 1.01 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO gained 0.16 percent.

U.S. stocks closed higher Thursday due to the country's improved job and retail sales data, with the Dow Jones industrial average rising 1.21 percent and the tech-laden NASDAQ composite index adding 1.32 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,127.60 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 6.80 won from Thursday's close. (Yonhap news)