Global Stocks Higher Ahead of Fed Talk

BEIJING (AP) -- Global stock markets mostly rose Monday ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting this week that is expected to accelerate plans to wind down U.S. economic stimulus after November inflation hit a 39-year high.

London, Shanghai and Tokyo advanced while Frankfurt opened lower. Oil prices rose by more than $1 per barrel.

Fed officials said earlier they were ready to try to cool inflation by winding down bond purchases and other stimulus that is boosting stock markets.

The meeting "should see the Fed shift its stance on inflation and announce a faster pace of tapering," said ING's Chris Turner and Francesco Pesole in a report.

In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London rose 0.2% to 7,304.94 while Frankfurt's DAX shed 0.1% to 15,623.31. The CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.2% to 6,991.68.

On Wall Street, futures for the benchmark S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.3%.

On Friday, the S&P 500 gained 1% for a weekly gain of 3.8%. The benchmark is up 25.5% for the year.

The Dow advanced 0.6% and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.7%.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.7% to 3,690.44 after Chinese leaders on Friday promised tax cuts and other support for entrepreneurs to shore up economic growth. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.5% to 24,121.77.

At an annual planning meeting, Chinese leaders emphasized the need to maintain stability after economic growth fell to an unexpectedly low 4.9% over a year earlier in the latest quarter.

The ruling Communist Party wants to "avert a hard landing" ahead of leadership changes at a meeting late next year, said Vishnu Varathan of Mizuho Bank in a report.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 0.8% to 28,678.54 after the quarterly Tankan survey showed stronger improvement in business conditions for service industries than expected.

The Kospi in Seoul lost 0.3% to 3,002.09 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 was 0.4% higher at 7,379.30.

India's Sensex opened 0.2% higher at 58,906.07. New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets also gained.

On Wall Street, more than 70% of the stocks in the S&P 500 rose Friday.

The Fed previously planned to raise ultra-low interest rates in late 2022, but investors now expect that to be moved up to mid-year.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.10 to $72.77 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 73 cents to $71.67 on Friday. Brent crude, the price basis for international oil trading, advanced $1.02 cents to $76.17 per barrel in London. It gained 73 cents the previous session to $75.15 per barrel.

The dollar gained go 113.51 yen from Friday's 113.43 yen. The euro declined to $1.1271 from $1.1311.