World shares began June mostly higher after a report showing that inflation in the U.S. is not worsening drove a rally on Wall Street.
In early trading Monday, Germany's DAX advanced 1% to 18,728.00 and the CAC 40 in Paris climbed 0.6% to 8,040.94. Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.4% to 8,313.50.
The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.2% while that for the Dow was virtually unchanged.
India’s Sensex surged 3.2% to 76,304.58 after the country’s 6-week-long national election came to an end with most exit polls projecting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will extend his decade in power with a third consecutive term.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.8% to 18,403.04, while the Shanghai Composite index fell back in the afternoon, losing 0.3% to 3,078.49.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 advanced 1.1% to 38,933.36 and the Kospi in Seoul surged 2% to 2,682.52.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.8% to 7,761.00.
In Taiwan, the Taiex closed 1.8% higher.
On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.8% to close its sixth winning month in the last seven. The Dow leaped 1.5% and the Nasdaq slipped less than 0.1%.
Stocks broadly got a boost from easing Treasury yields in the bond market after the latest reading on inflation came in roughly as expected, at 2.7% last month.
That could bolster confidence at the Federal Reserve that inflation is sustainably heading toward its target of 2%, something it says it needs before it will cut its main interest rate.
Friday’s report from the U.S. government also showed growth in consumer spending weakened by more than economists expected. Growth in incomes for Americans also slowed last month.
“Finally, the U.S. economic data is starting to show clear signs that consumers are feeling the pinch. With savings running dry, prices skyrocketing, the job market cooling down, disposable incomes taking a hit, and interest rates still high, spending in 2022 is becoming impossible. It’s like trying to fill a bucket with a hole in it — good luck keeping it full,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
The Fed has been keeping the federal funds rate at the highest level in more than 20 years in hopes of slowing the economy enough to stifle high inflation. But if it holds rates too high for too long, it could choke off the economy’s growth and cause a recession that throws workers out of their jobs and craters profits for companies.
In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil picked up 21 cents to $77.20 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, rose 8 cents to $81.36 after OPEC agreed during the weekend to maintain its production cuts at a time when prices are slack.
The U.S. dollar fell to 157.05 Japanese yen from 157.26 yen. The euro slipped to $1.0839 from $1.0848.
