Stock Market Today: Global Shares Rise, Inflation Report Eyed

Tokyo, Jan 11 (AP) Global shares advanced on Thursday on the back of Wall Street's climb to a near-record high, as Tokyo's benchmark finished at a 34-year high.

France's CAC 40 edged up 0.6 per cent in early trading to 7,469.16. Germany's DAX added nearly 0.8 per cent to 16,821.53. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.5 per cent to 7,687.79.

The future for the S&P 500 gained 0.3 per cent while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2 per cent.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.6 per cent, just 0.3 per cent below its all-time high. The Dow added 0.5 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.8 per cent.

Investors are watching for a US inflation report due later Thursday that could show whether all the excitement that's vaulted stocks higher recently is warranted.

Hope is growing that the Federal Reserve has cooled the economy just enough to tame inflation without causing a recession.

In Asian trading, Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index finished 1.8 per cent higher at 35,049.86. That was the highest finish since February 1990, during Japan's so-called “bubble years,” a time of vastly inflated real estate and stock prices.

The yen has weakened against the US dollar, boosting prices of export-related shares.

Thursday was the third straight day of such finishes and analysts were warning that investors might soon decide to sell to lock in their profits.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s stock rose 3.6 per cent, while Honda Motor Co. added 2.3 per cent. Sony Group Corp. rose 3.5 per cent and Hitachi gained 4.2 per cent.

A year ago, the dollar was trading at about 130 Japanese yen. The US dollar slipped to 145.53 Japanese yen from 145.76 yen on Thursday. The euro fell to USD 1.0967 from USD 1.0972.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.3 per cent to 16,302.04, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.3 per cent to 2,886.65.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5 per cent to 7,506.00. South Korea's Kospi slipped less than 2 points to 2,540.27.

Hopes are growing the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates sharply this year. Economists expect Thursday's report to show prices paid by US consumers were 3.2 per cent higher in December than a year earlier, according to FactSet.

That would be a slight acceleration from November's 3.1 per cent inflation rate. But after ignoring the effects of food and fuel prices, which can quickly shift from month to month, economists believe underlying inflation trends likely continued to cool.

The Fed has hinted at possibly cutting interest rates three times this year. Many traders are anticipating double that number of rate cuts, but critics say that's overly optimistic.

Benchmark US crude oil added 89 cents to USD 72.25 a barrel early Thursday. It dropped 87 cents to USD 71.37 on Wednesday. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 93 cents to USD 77.73 a barrel.