Korean stocks opened slightly higher Thursday, buoyed by the Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates steady and expectations for strong third-quarter earnings from Samsung Electronics amid robust memory chip demand. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 10.2 points, or 0.17 percent, to 6,022.64 as of 9:15 a.m., extending its rally after surging more than 6 percent in the previous session. Overnight, U.S. stocks gained after the Federal Open Market Committee voted 10-2 to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.75-4 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.19 percent, the S&P 500 added 0.28 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.27 percent. In the earnings guidance earlier this month, Samsung Electronics forecast third-quarter sales of 195 trillion won ($145 billion) and operating profit of 107.4 trillion won, driven by strong demand for memory chips used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications.