World shares mixed as investors await inflation updates

BANGKOK — World shares were mixed Tuesday, with European indexes mostly higher after a downbeat session in Asia.

Benchmarks fell in Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai but rose in London and Paris. U.S. futures declined.

In a subdued opening to the week in New York, the S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1% on Monday but was within 0.2% of the all-time high it reached a month ago.

Japan reported that its economy contracted 1% in the January-March quarter from the previous quarter, instead of the preliminary estimate of minus 1.3%.

A severe coronavirus outbreak that has caused the government to declare a partial state of emergency and tighten pandemic precautions is likely to keep the economy in the doldrums in the current quarter, Makoto Tsuchiya of Oxford Economics said in a commentary.

“However, we remain optimistic that the pace of recovery will pick up in the second half as domestic demand recovers, supported by increased vaccinations, while foreign demand should continue to support the manufacturing sector,” he said.

Investors will get another glimpse into the impact of inflation on Thursday with the U.S. Labor Department’s consumer price report for May. Prices on everything from food to clothes and housing have been rising as the economy recovers.

China reports updated inflation data on Wednesday.

Investors and economists are concerned that a steep rise in prices could crimp the recovery and prompt the Federal Reserve and other central banks to withdraw some of its support for the economy such as keeping interest rates ultra-low and buying bonds.

Germany’s DAX edged 0.1% lower to 15,661.59 while the CAC 40 in Paris edged 2.22 points higher to 5,545.78. In London, the FTSE 100 picked up 3 points to 7,080.25. The future for the Dow industrials fell 0.2% while that for the S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1%.

In Asian trading, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was nearly unchanged at 28,781.38 and the Nikkei in Tokyo edged 0.2% lower to 28,963.56. The Shanghai Composite index declined 0.5% to 3,580.11. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.2% to 7,292.60. In Seoul, the Kospi fell 0.1% to 3,247.83.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 1.56% from 1.57% late Monday.

U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 60 cents to $68.63 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 39 cents to $69.23 per barrel on Monday. Brent crude, the international standard, declined 60 cents to $70.89 per barrel.

The dollar rose to 109.52 Japanese yen from 109.25 yen. The euro declined to $1.2175 from $1.2192.