Singapore, May 15 (BNA): Asian stocks rose on Wednesday while the dollar drifted lower as traders weighed mixed U.S. producer price data and braced for the crucial consumer price report later in the day that is likely to influence the Federal Reserve’s near-term policy path.
European bourses also looked set for a higher open, with Eurostoxx 50 futures up 0.28%, German DAX futures 0.29% higher and FTSE futures 0.45% advanced, Reuters reported.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.65%, scaling a fresh 15-month high and taking its gains to 4% so far this month. Japan’s Nikkei advanced 0.58%.
Data overnight showed U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in April, indicating that inflation remained stubbornly high early in the second quarter.
Investors have had to dial back their expectations of U.S. rate cuts this year due to sticky inflation.
The Nasdaq scored a record closing-high on Tuesday and the S&P 500, and the Dow also rose.
Retail investor darlings GameStop and AMC soared overnight.
In China, stocks eased with the blue-chip index down 0.27%, weighed down by U.S. fresh tariffs on Chinese goods.
In the currency market, the dollar was on the backfoot, with the euro touching a fresh one-month high of $1.0828.
The dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency against six peers, was last at 104.97. The yen was last at 156.29 per dollar, having touched a two-week low of 156.80 on Tuesday.
The yen touched a 34-year low of 160.245 per dollar on April 29.
In commodities, oil prices edged higher as large wildfires were threatening Canada’s oil sands and as the market expected U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories to show a drawdown later in the day.
U.S. crude was up 0.68% at $78.55 per barrel and Brent was at $82.87 per barrel, up 0.59%.
Spot gold was little changed at $2,356.64 per ounce.
FG
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