Global shares mostly rise as investors waited for US consumer price data

Global shares mostly rose on Tuesday, boosted by a rally on Wall Street, as investors waited for US consumer price data due out later in the day.

France's CAC 40 added nearly 0.1 per cent in early trading to 7,214.85, while Germany's DAX also rose less than 0.1 per cent, to 15,400.76.

Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.4 per cent to 7,976.92. The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1 per cent while that for the S and P 500 gained 0.2 per cent.

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 per cent 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 per cent to finish at 27,602.77. Australia's S and P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2 per cent to 7,430.90. South Korea's Kospi added 0.5 per cent to 2,465.64. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.1 per cent to 21,134.55, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.3 per cent to 3,293.28.

Toyota Motor Corp. stocks rose 0.3 per cent 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 per cent after the online retailer announced operating losses on its investments.

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

Economists expect Tuesday's report to show that US inflation slowed to 6.2 per cent in January. That would be down from 6.5 per cent a month before and from a peak of more than 9 per cent 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 per cent. 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 per cent from 3.75 per cent late Friday.

The two-year yield, which tends to move more on expectations for the Fed, was at 4.54 per cent 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 and P 500 are on track to report a nearly 5 per cent drop in earnings for the final three months of 2022, compared with a year earlier, according to FactSet.

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

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