An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Woori Bank headquarters in Seoul on . (Yonhap) South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Friday following the previous session's sharp rise, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street amid rising hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict between the United States and Iran.After starting 0.74 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index trimmed earlier gains to edge up 2.71 points, or 0.03 percent, to 7,818,3 as of 9:15 a.m.Overnight, US stocks advanced after Iran said the latest proposal from the US partly bridged the gap between the warring sides, raising hopes that the three-month war may end soon with a peace deal.The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 0.1 percent.Most market heavyweights in Seoul traded mixed.Top-cap Samsung Electronics started 1.34 percent lower after surging the previous day, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix lost 2.29 percent.Automobile shares were also among the losers.Top automaker Hyundai Motor shed 2.55 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia declined 1.61 percent.In contrast, artificial intelligence investment firm SK Square was up 0.76 percent, and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution gained 2.62 percent.The Korean won was trading at 1,507.4 won against the US dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 1.3 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)