Seoul shares opened higher Monday, tracking gains on Wall Street last week.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 5.19 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,599.01 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.09 percent to 43,275.91, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up 0.63 percent to 18,489.55.

In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. fell 0.8 percent, leading auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis Co. declined 1.2 percent, No. 2 carmaker Kia Corp. shed 0.2 percent, and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. was down 0.3 percent.

Among gainers, top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. rose 0.4 percent, national flag carrier Korean Air Co. gained 1.7 percent, LG Chem Ltd. climbed 0.6 percent, and leading budget carrier Jeju Air Co. was up 2.4 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,367.60 won against the US dollar, up 2.1 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)