Global stocks edge higher as investors await U.S. inflation data

Global Stock Markets

World shares inched higher on Tuesday, eking out limited gains as investors kept a wary eye on a U.S. inflation reading later in the day that could offer clues on the pace of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes this year. 

The MSCI All-Country World index of stocks, which tracks shares in 47 countries was up less than 0.1 percent. .MIWD00000PUS

The index has recovered about half its losses during a violent shakeout in stocks in February. The selloff came on the back of strong U.S. wage numbers, which investors feared might feed into inflation and push the U.S. central bank towards a faster pace of monetary tightening. 

While the consumer price index is a popular barometer of economic health, it is not the primary gauge the Fed uses to determine whether it is meeting its mandate of price stability. Instead, the Fed uses the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index.

European shares opened positive, with the pan-European STOXX 600 gaining 0.1 percent. Italian and Spanish stocks rose 0.3 to 0.4 percent, while Britain's FTSE .FTSE was a laggard, down 0.1 percent.

Earlier in Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was up 0.2 percent after spending much of the day swerving in and out of negative territory. 

The index surged 1.5 percent on Monday following firm U.S. jobs numbers on Friday, while low wage growth eased concerns about inflation and faster central bank rate hikes. 

But a mixed performance by U.S. shares overnight tempered the rally. 

The S&P 500 .SPX and the Dow .DJI slipped on Monday as the U.S. tariffs signed into law last week weighed on industrials, while a rise in tech stocks boosted the Nasdaq .IXIC to a new record high. 

In currencies, the Japanese yen fell over half a percent to a two-week low against the dollar, pressured by a political scandal engulfing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government. It also lost ground to the euro.  

The dollar index .DXY, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was up 0.2 percent.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield US10YT=RR stood little changed at 2.879 percent.

In commodities, crude oil prices staged a recovery after sliding on concerns over rising U.S. output.

U.S. crude futures CLc1 were up 0.2 percent to $61.51 per barrel. Brent LCOc1 also rose 0.2 percent to $65.08 per barrel.

Spot gold fell 0.2 percent to $1,318 per ounce.