South Korean stocks opened higher Monday on eased woes over a US recession after last week's rout.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 26.81 points, or 1.04 percent, to 2,615.24 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Major US indexes finished higher Friday following a rout as recession woes diminished thanks to better-than-expected unemployment data.

Investors' eyes are now on the US consumer price, producer price and retail sales data due out later this week.

In Seoul, most big-cap shares started in positive territory to recover from last week's slump.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics increased 1.07 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix added 1.92 percent.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 1.86 percent, and its smaller rival Samsung SDI jumped 3.39 percent. Posco Future M soared 3.89 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor advanced 2.06 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia gained 0.59 percent.

But internet portal operator Naver shed 1.89 percent, and HD Hyundai Heavy slid 2.83 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,364.20 won against the US dollar, up 0.4 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)