[THE INVESTOR] South Korean stocks started higher on Jan. 12 as investors went bargain hunting after a correction, boosted by the upbeat gains on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved up 6.44 points, or 0.26 percent, to 2,494.35 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Tech shares were mixed. Top market cap Samsung Electronics dropped 2.16 percent, while SK hynix, a major chipmaker, edged up 0.55 percent.

Leading automaker Hyundai Motor slipped 0.32 percent, and top steelmaker POSCO jumped 3.55 percent.

Wall Street closed at a record high on Jan. 12 as a rise in oil prices to a three-year high lifted energy stocks.

The local currency was trading at 1,065.2 won against the US dollar, up 6.8 won from the previous session‘s close.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)