Seoul shares opened lower Thursday, bucking gains on Wall Street, as investors remain concerned over the US Federal Reserve's additional rate hikes to tame inflation.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 15.79 points, or 0.61 percent, to 2,592.45 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.31 percent to 35,061.21 points, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.03 percent to 14,358.02.

Investors see no major risk of recession but still remain cautious due to forecasts that the US central bank may raise rates further this year to bring inflation in line with its target of 2 percent, analysts said.

In Seoul, large-cap stocks declined across the board.

Market behemoth Samsung Electronics Co. fell 0.3 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. declined 0.08 percent, and Hanwha Ocean, formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., plunged 5.5 percent.

Among gainers, top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. rose 1 percent, the country's national flag carrier Korean Air Co. climbed 1 percent, leading refiner SK Innovation Co. gained 2.5 percent, and No. 1 shipping firm HMM was up 0.8 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,266.3 won against the dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 0.7 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)