An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Monday. (Yonhap)

Seoul shares opened higher Monday, tracking gains on Wall Street last week, with investors staying cautious about high inflation and further rate hikes.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 10.35 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,376.95 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.7 percent to 31,500.68 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 3.3 percent to 11,607.62 points.

In Seoul, technology stocks were lead gainers.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. rose 0.2 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. climbed 1.9 percent, and LG Electronics Co. was up 0.5 percent.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. jumped 3.5 percent, its sibling Kia Corp. gained 2.6 percent, No. 2 carrier Asiana Airlines Inc. was up 0.6 percent.

Among decliners, state-run utility Korea Gas Corp. fell 0.5 percent, leading cosmetics firm AmorePacific Corp. declined 1.5 percent, and leading car battery maker LG Energy Solution shed 0.1 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,292.85 won against the US dollar, up 5.35 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)