Seoul shares opened higher Tuesday, tracking gains in US tech stocks after Washington announced a new semiconductor export control package targeting China.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shot up 29.74 points, or 1.21 percent, to 2,484.22 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.97 percent, and the S&P increased 0.24 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.29 percent.

Seoul shares gained ground as the latest US export curbs are expected to have only a limited impact on domestic chipmakers, such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, as their dependence on the Chinese market for affected chips remains minimal.

Top tech giant Samsung Electronics added 1.31 percent and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix moved up 1.26 percent.

Financial shares also opened bullish, with KB Financial rising 2.59 percent and Shinhan Financial climbing 2.41 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,403.5 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., down 2.2 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)