An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday. (Yonhap)
An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday. (Yonhap)

Seoul shares opened higher Wednesday on gains in techs and shipbuilders, with investors awaiting key US inflation data this week.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 22.75 points, or 0.91 percent, to 2,520.15 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.52 percent to 42,518.28 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.23 percent to 19,044.39 points.

All eyes are now on the US consumer price index report due later in the day, which may provide a glimpse into the future path of the Federal Reserve's rate policy.

In Seoul, tech and shipbuilding stocks led gains.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 1.11 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix climbed 2.26 percent, and top carmaker Hyundai Motor was up 0.45 percent.

Leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai rose 2.17 percent, national flag carrier Korean Air gained 1.54 percent, and leading refiner SK Innovation was up 0.47 percent.

Among decliners, leading battery maker LG Energy Solution fell 0.42 percent, dominant tobacco firm KT&G declined 0.18 percent, and Hyundai Steel was down 0.23 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,461.20 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., up 2 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)