Seoul shares opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, amid concerns over the US Federal Reserve's continued rate hikes to tame inflation.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 22 points, or 0.91 percent, to 2,449.90 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1 percent to 34,128.05 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.9 percent to 12,070.59.

Investors now await US employment data to be released Thursday to take a cue in their future investment directions, following hotter-than-expected inflation data.

The US Consumer Price Index data showed prices rose at a higher-than-expected clip of 0.5 percent in January. The Fed said it is not done yet in its monetary tightening to bring down inflation.

In Seoul, most large-cap stocks advanced.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. rose 0.6 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. climbed 0.3 percent, national flag carrier Korean Air Co. gained 1.1 percent, and top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. gained 1.3 percent.

Among decliners, leading wireless services provider SK Telecom Co. fell 2.7 percent, No. 1 fixed line services firm KT Corp. dropped 2.7 percent, and K-pop powerhouse Hybe dropped 1 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,284.5 won against the US dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 2.3 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)