European stocks are set to follow their US peers higher following a choppy Asian session as markets awaited further trading catalysts.
The Australian dollar strengthened on faster-than-expected inflation data. Japanese and Hong Kong equity gauges rose, while those in Australia declined. US stock futures ticked higher in Asia after a rebound in Nvidia Corp. shares helped boost the S&P 500 on Tuesday.
Australia’s dollar and bond yields climbed after the inflation numbers suggested price pressures remain stubbornly strong and bolstered the case for the central bank to resume raising interest rates. The yen held just below the psychologically important level of 160 per dollar, a breach of which will likely boost intervention concern.
“There’s limited event risk for the broader region today,” said Kyle Rodda, a market analyst at Capital.com. “However, the yen remains within touching distance of 160 and levels that Japanese authorities intervened in the market.”
China’s 10-year bond yield fell to a more than two-decade low as investors flocked to fixed-income securities amid concern about the slowing economy and expectations for further stimulus.
In Australia, the monthly consumer price indicator climbed 4% from a year earlier, exceeding economists’ estimate of 3.8%, government data showed Wednesday. The trimmed mean core measure, which smooths out volatile items, advanced to 4.4% versus 4.1% a month earlier.
