Global Shares Mostly Rise Ahead Of Key US Inflation Report

TOKYO (AP) -- Global shares mostly rose Tuesday, boosted by a rally on Wall Street, as investors waited for U.S. consumer price data due out later in the day.

France's CAC 40 added nearly 0.1% in early trading to 7,214.85, while Germany's DAX also rose less than 0.1%, to 15,400.76. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.4% to 7,976.92. The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% while that for the S&P 500 gained 0.2%.

"Sentiments are largely tracking the positive handover from Wall Street overnight, although much is still up in the air," Yeap Jun Rong, a market analyst at IG, said in a commentary.

In a mixed sign of Japan's shaky recovery, government data showed the world's third largest economy grew at an annual pace of 0.6% in October-December, as restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic eased, both abroad and in Japan. Tourism recovered, as did local travel, and exports grew, the Cabinet Office reported.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.6% to finish at 27,602.77. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2% to 7,430.90. South Korea's Kospi added 0.5% to 2,465.64. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.1% to 21,134.55, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.3% to 3,293.28.

Toyota Motor Corp. stocks rose 0.3% after its president-to-be announced a company strategy to strengthen the Japanese automaker's offerings in electric vehicles in coming years, focusing on its Lexus luxury brand. Rakuten Group shares plunged 1.5% after the online retailer announced operating losses on its investments.

On Monday, the S&P 500 climbed 1.1% in anticipation of Tuesday's report on inflation at the consumer level across the country. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also gained 1.1% and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.5%.

Economists expect Tuesday's report to show that U.S. inflation slowed to 6.2% in January. That would be down from 6.5% a month before and from a peak of more than 9% in the summer. Perhaps more important than the overall number is what the data show specifically about prices for services outside of housing, such as haircuts or airfares. Inflation has remained stubbornly high there, when it's started to come down in other areas.

Everyone agrees that inflation is heading in the right direction. The question is how quickly and steadily it will come down to the Fed's target of 2%. The central bank has been consistently saying it plans to keep rates higher for longer to ensure the job is done on inflation.

Yields were mixed Monday ahead of the inflation report. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps set rates for mortgages and other important loans, dipped to 3.70% from 3.75% late Friday. The two-year yield, which tends to move more on expectations for the Fed, was at 4.54% and close to its highest since November.

All the worries about inflation and rates are happening against the backdrop of a decidedly lackluster earnings reporting season. Companies in the S&P 500 are on track to report a nearly 5% drop in earnings for the final three months of 2022, compared with a year earlier, according to FactSet.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell 79 cents to $79.35 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international pricing standard, fell 49 cents to $86.12 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar inched down to 132.04 Japanese yen from 132.42 yen. The euro cost $1.0735, up from $1.0726.