Seoul shares opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street amid hopes for more US rate cuts.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.58 percent, or 15.18 points, to 2,617.19 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, major US indexes gained ground as several Federal Reserve policymakers voiced support for additional rate cuts in the future. Last week, the Fed cut its lending rate by half a percentage point to a range of 4.75 percent to 5 percent and pledged further cuts.

In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 0.96 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix edged up 0.12 percent.

Battery makers also started strong, driven by Tesla’s 4.93 percent surge overnight. Industry leader LG Energy Solution soared 2.39 percent, and its smaller rival Samsung SDI jumped 3.03 percent. Posco Future M also surged 4.38 percent.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor rose 1.41 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia gained 1.16 percent. Leading chemical producer LG Chem rallied 5.17 percent.

However, bio giants Samsung Biologics and Celltrion declined 0.64 percent and 1.71 percent, respectively, as investors took profit following gains from the previous day.

The local currency was trading at 1,333.90 won against the US dollar, up 2.0 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)