Global stocks gain ahead of US inflation report

BEIJING — Global stocks and Wall Street futures were higher Tuesday ahead of data traders hope will show that surging U.S. inflation eased in August, reducing pressure for more interest rate hikes.

London and Frankfurt opened higher. Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong gained. Oil prices rose by more than $1 per barrel.

Investors were waiting for U.S. government data they hope will show inflation peaked at a four-decade high of 9.1% in June and has fallen further after declining to 8.5% in July.

A decline might help the Federal Reserve avoid having to raise interest rates further to a level that might tip the U.S. economy into recession.

The report “will likely show pricing pressure relief but will not change the Fed from maintaining an aggressive stance,” Edward Moya of Oanda said in a report.

In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London gained 0.2% to 7,485.89 and the DAX in Frankfurt added 0.3% to 13,443.76. The CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.6% to 6,369.74.

On Wall Street, the future for the benchmark S&P 500 index was up 0.5%. That for the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.4%.

On Monday, the S&P 500 index rose 1.1%. The Dow gained 0.7% and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.3%.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index gained less than 0.1% to 3,263.79 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo added 0.3% to 28,614.63. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 0.2% to 19,326.86.

The Kospi in Seoul soared 2.7% to 2,449.54 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 rose 0.7% to 7,009.70.

India’s Sensex gained 0.8% to 60,620.01. New Zealand declined while Southeast Asian markets gained.

Fed officials have affirmed support for substantial rate hikes and to keep borrowing costs elevated for long enough to make sure inflation is extinguished.

On Wednesday, the U.S. government is due to report August inflation at the wholesale level.

Investors hope receding inflation pressures might prompt the Fed to back off. Similar hopes earlier were dashed when chair Jerome Powell said in August rates would stay high.

Surveys show traders expect the Fed to raise rates this month for the fifth time this year and by 0.75 percentage points, three times its usual margin. After that, the U.S. central bank is expected to hold rates steady through the first half of 2023.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude gained $1.10 to $88.88 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 99 cents to $87.78 on Monday. Brent crude, the price basis for international oil trading, added $1.15 to $95.15 per barrel in London. It gained $1.16 the previous session to $94.

The dollar eased to 142.35 yen from Monday’s 142.73 yen. The euro rose to $1.0143 from $1.0117.