Seoul shares opened higher Tuesday as investors remain concerned about the Federal Reserve's aggressive rate hike plans following its officials' recent comments.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 3.18 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,353.37 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Fed officials signaled the US central bank could raise rates to somewhere over 5 percent to tame inflation.

Foreigners and institutions bought a combined 28 billion won ($22.5 million) worth of stocks, offsetting individuals' stock selling valued at 26 billion won.

In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. fell 1 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. declined 0.4 percent, top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. dropped 0.9 percent, and the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. shed 0.3 percent.

Among gainers, leading car battery maker LG Energy Solution Co. jumped 4 percent, and LG Chem Ltd. climbed 3.7 percent on news that LG Energy Solution is in talks with Ford Motor Co. to build a battery cell plant in Turkey.

The local currency was trading at 1,242.60 won against the US dollar, up 0.9 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)