Seoul shares opened higher Wednesday on retail buying, though investors remain cautious due to concerns over a slower pace of the Federal Reserve's rate cuts.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 3.53 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,574.23 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, US stocks closed mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.02 percent to 42,924.89, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.18 percent to 18,573.13.

In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. fell 0.9 percent, national flag carrier Korean Air Co. declined 1.7 percent, and state utility Korea Electric Power Corp. shed 0.5 percent.

Among gainers, top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. rose 1.5 percent, leading battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd. climbed 1.4 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. was up 1.8 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,380.50 won against the US dollar, down 0.4 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)