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

Seoul shares opened lower Thursday tracking falls on Wall Street as the US Federal Reserve signaled that its rate hikes would continue next year.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 11.58 points, or 0.48 percent, to 2,387.67 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4 percent to 33,966.35, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.8 percent to 11,170.89.

The drops come after the Federal Open Market Committee raised its benchmark rate by 50 basis points to a range of 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent.

The policymakers forecast rates would end next year in a range of 5 percent to 5.25 percent, a higher level than previously indicated.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the US central bank has more work to do in raising rates to rein in inflation.

In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. fell 1.2 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. declined 1.8 percent, leading steelmaker POSCO Holdings dropped 1.4 percent, and leading car battery maker LG Energy Solution shed 0.4 percent.

Among gainers, top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. rose 0.6 percent, national flag carrier Korean Air Co. climbed 0.6 percent, and No. 1 refiner SK Innovation Co. added 0.9 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,301.30 won against the US dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 5 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap).