Seoul shares opened lower Wednesday as investors assess higher-than-expected US inflation data and the Federal Reserve's comments hinting at rate increases, which may portend a longer-than-expected period of monetary tightening to combat inflation.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 9.95 points, or 0.40 percent, to 2,455.69 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, US stocks ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.5 percent to 34,089.27 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rising 0.6 percent to 11,960.15.

The US Consumer Price Index data showed prices advanced by a higher-than-expected 0.5 percent in January. The Fed officials said the US central bank is not done yet in its monetary tightening to battle inflation.

In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 0.5 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. declined 0.4 percent, national flag carrier Korean Air Co. dropped 0.4 percent, and leading refiner SK Innovation Co. shed 3.9 percent.

Among gainers, top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. rose 0.3 percent, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. climbed 1.7 percent, and the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. gained 0.1 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,275.05 won against the US dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 5.65 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)