South Korean stocks started higher Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's dovish comments eased rate woes.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 11.84 points, or 0.43 percent, to 2,792.7 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, Wall Street closed higher as Powell said recent economic data represented "significant progress," boosting investor sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.41 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.84 percent.

In Seoul, top automaker Hyundai Motor went up 0.37 percent, and No. 1 oil refinery SK Innovation rose 3.84 percent.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution jumped 6.4 percent, and steel giant Posco Holdings climbed 2.05 percent.

But the world's biggest memory chipmaker Samsung Electronics declined 0.24 percent, and its rival SK hynix fell 2.16 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,386 won against the US dollar, up 2.2 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)