World Shares Mixed As Investors Await Powell Testimony

Global shares were mixed on Tuesday as investors waited to see if US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell would sound supportive of rate cuts after evidence showed the US labor market is cooling, Tom Wilson and Stella Qiu reported for Reuters.

Wall Street on Monday had inched higher to close at record peaks.

The Euro STOXX 600 fell 0.2%, with euro zone blue-chip stocks down by a similar amount.

Energy shares, tracking lower oil prices, led the losses, falling 0.9%. Wall Street, however, was set for a brighter open with S&P 500 futures up 0.2% and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.4%.

Wall Street on Monday had inched higher to close at record peaks. Powell is set to appear before Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday, as investors wagered a slew of soft labor market data has boosted the chance of a rate cut in September to about 80%.

Earlier, Japan's Nikkei index jumped 1.96%, touching a record high, supported by semiconductor shares and a pummeled yen, which boosted the foreign earnings of Japanese companies.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged 0.4% higher, just a touch below a two-year top a day earlier.

US consumer price data due on Thursday will also give further clues to the health of the US economy. Headline inflation for June is expected to slow to 3.1%, from 3.3% in May, with core inflation forecast steady at 3.4%.