Global Shares Rise Ahead Of U.S. Inflation Report

Global shares mostly rose Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, boosted by a rally on Wall Street, as investors waited for US consumer price data due out later in the day.

Photo Insert: The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% while that for the S&P 500 gained 0.2%.

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%., Yuri Kageyama reported for the Associated Press (AP).

“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 US 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.

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