BEIJING — Stocks were mainly higher in Asia on Tuesday, ahead of a US inflation report that could affect the Federal Reserve’s timing in cutting interest rates.
US futures and oil prices were higher.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost less than 0.1% to 38,797.51, retreating further from its recent record highs as expectations grow that the central bank will raise its negative benchmark interest rate next month.
That speculation has pushed the Japanese yen higher against the US dollar. Early Tuesday, the dollar was trading at 147.41 yen, up from 146.95 yen. Recently the dollar traded around 150 yen.
Chinese markets were mixed, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up 3.2% to 17,124.19, led by property developers and technology companies.
Shares of developer Country Garden, which have been under financial pressure, rose 5.2%. China Evergrande, which is struggling to repay debt worth more than $300 billion, rose nearly 28%, and Sunac China Holding added 10%.
Online food delivery company Meituan rose 4.9% and e-commerce company JD.com rose 10%.
The Shanghai Composite index retreated, losing 0.4% to 3,055.94.
Elsewhere in Asia, the S&The P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% higher to 7,712.50. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.8% to 2,681.81.
On Monday the S&The P500 fell 0.1% to 5,117.94, remaining near its all-time high on Thursday.
Prices have been boosted by expectations of interest rate cuts this year and by signals that the economy remains remarkably resilient.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to 38,769.66 and the Nasdaq index fell 0.4% to 16,019.27.
Tuesday’s report on the prices Americans are paying could show that inflation held at 3.1% in February, if economists’ forecasts hold true.
A month ago, a better-than-expected report on consumer inflation sent financial markets into turmoil.
But the trend for inflation has been largely downward, cooling toward the Fed’s 2% target after peaking above 9%. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell Jerome Powell said last week that the Fed is “not far” from being confident enough about inflation to start cutting rates. Cuts to the Fed’s key interest rate, which is at its highest level since 2001, would ease pressure on the economy and financial system while boosting investment prices.
The general expectation among traders is that the Fed will start cutting rates in June.
Expectations for looser interest rates have helped push gold prices to a record. When bonds pay less interest, investors lose less income by owning gold instead. Gold for April delivery rose $3.10 to $2,188.60 an ounce. The gold price has risen by approximately 17% over the past twelve months.
Bitcoin, which is sometimes promoted by proponents as “digital gold,” also hit a new all-time high. It rose to almost $73,000 after being below $17,000 early last year. It has more than recovered from its previous peak of almost $69,000.
On Wall Street, Oracle rose 1.5% before issuing its latest earnings report after trading ended for the day. Earnings beat analyst expectations, and shares rose more strongly in after-hours trading.
On the losing side was natural gas producer EQT, which fell 7.8% for the biggest decline in the S&P500. It said it will buy Equitrans Midstream and its gas transmission and storage systems in an all-stock deal that values the combined company at $35 billion. Equitrans Midstream rose 1.5%.
Nvidia had a shaky day after dropping 5.5% on Friday, its worst day since May. Nvidia is still up more than 70% this year after more than tripling last year amid a frenzy on Wall Street over artificial intelligence technology.
Reddit said it could raise up to $748 million for the first time by selling shares to investors on an exchange. The social media company expects its shares to trade under the ticker symbol ‘RDDT’.
In other trading early Tuesday, U.S. benchmark crude rose 25 cents to $78.18 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Monday, oil prices fell 8 cents to $77.93 per barrel.
Brent crude, the international standard, added 33 cents to $83.54 a barrel.
The euro rose from $1.0927 to $1.0937.