Seoul shares opened lower Wednesday, bucking overnight gains on Wall Street, as investors await key US inflation data and major firms' second-quarter earnings results.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 3.32 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,559.17 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.6 percent.

Federal Reserve officials have said the US central bank will likely need to raise rates further this year to tame inflation. Investors await Wednesday's US consumer price index data to take a cue for future rate moves.

In Seoul, auto and energy stocks led declines.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. fell 1.5 percent, leading auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis Co. declined 1.7 percent, Hanjin KAL Corp., parent firm of national flag carrier Korean Air Co., shed 0.6 percent, and leading car battery maker LG Energy Solution was down 2.9 percent.

Among gainers, market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. rose 0.1 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. climbed 0.5 percent, and Hanwha Ocean Co., formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding Marine & Engineering Co., jumped 8.7 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,293.55 won against the US dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 0.15 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)