Stock market today: Global shares advance after inflation data drives a rally on Wall Street

[January 16, 2025]  By YURI KAGEYAMA

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares mostly rose Thursday, following a rally on Wall Street driven by encouraging update on U.S. inflation.

France's CAC 40 edged up 1.4% in early trading to 7,576.97, while Germany's DAX was down less than 0.1% at 7,576.97. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.7% to 8,355.34. The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.2% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was nearly unchanged.

In Asian trading, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.3% to finish at 38,572.60.

Bank of Japan data showed wholesale prices in Japan rose 3.8% in December last year compared to a year earlier, adding to pressures on the central bank to raise interest rates, possibly at a monetary policy meeting next week.

In China, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 1.2% to 19,522.89, while the Shanghai Composite index rose nearly 0.3% to 3,236.03.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.4% to 8,327.00. South Korea's Kospi gained 1.2% to 2,527.49.

Treasury yields eased following an update on how much more U.S. households had to pay in December for eggs, gasoline, housing and other costs of living. The report said overall inflation accelerated to 2.9% from 2.7% in November.

The latest U.S. inflation numbers were more encouraging underneath the surface. After ignoring prices for food and energy, which can zigzag sharply from month to month, underlying inflation trends slowed to 3.2% in December. Economists had thought it would remain at 3.3% for a fourth straight month, according to FactSet.

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

The Federal Reserve pays more attention to that underlying number than the overall figure, and it’s particularly welcome following worries that improvements in inflation have halted and that it will be tough to get all the way down to the Fed’s 2% target.

Wall Street has been lurching down and up for weeks as traders tear up their forecasts for what the Fed will do with interest rates in 2025. A further easing would boost the U.S. economy and prices for investments, but it could also give inflation more fuel.

Few traders expect Wednesday’s data to convince the Fed to cut its main interest rate at its meeting later this month, as it’s done at three straight meetings since September. But economists and analysts say it could open the door for cuts later in the year, maybe even in March, if more data comes in to show that upward pressure on inflation is abating.

In other dealings early Thursday, benchmark U.S. crude fell 8 cents to $78.63 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, was down 11 cents at $81.92 a barrel.

The U.S. dollar declined to 155.72 Japanese yen from 156.47 yen. The euro cost $1.0288, down from $1.0289.

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