Seoul shares opened lower Thursday, tracking losses on Wall Street amid concerns over a slower pace of the US Federal Reserve's rate cuts.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 8.92 points, or 0.34 percent, to 2,590.70 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.96 percent to 42,514.95, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 1.6 percent to 18,276.65.

In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. fell 2 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. declined 1.5 percent, top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. shed 1.5 percent, and state-run Korea Gas Corp. was down 1.1 percent.

Among gainers, leading battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd. rose 2.5 percent, leading refiner SK Innovation Co. climbed 0.9 percent, and national flag carrier Korean Air Co. gained 0.2 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,381.50 won against the dollar, up 0.7 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)