Tokyo, Jun 28 (AP) Global shares were mixed on Wednesday despite a rally on Wall Street driven by optimism over reports suggesting the American economy is in better shape than feared.

France's CAC 40 advanced 0.7 per cent in early trading to 7,263.87, while Germany's DAX rose 0.7 per cent to 15,953.77. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.4 per cent to 7,491.90.

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The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was nearly unchanged while that for the S&P 500 was down 0.2 per cent. Oil prices advanced.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 2.0 per cent to finish at 33,193.99. A weakening Japanese yen helped lift exporter shares like autos. Toyota Motor Corp. surged 2.8 per cent, while video-game maker Nintendo Co. edged up 2.0 per cent. A cheap yen raises the value of overseas earnings when converted into yen.

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A dollar bought 144.00 yen, nearly unchanged. The euro slipped to USD 1.0951 from USD 1.0963.

The recent rise of the dollar against the yen is raising speculation about how that could affect Japanese monetary policy and what it could mean for the economy at a time when inflationary pressures have picked up after years of deflation.

The euro cost USD 1.0954, down from USD 1.0959.

Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.1 per cent to 7,196.50 after the government reported that the consumer price index rose 5.6 per cent in the twelve months to May.

The most significant price rises included housing and food. The Reserve Bank of Australia made a surprise move of raising interest rate earlier this month to counter persisted price pressures.

South Korea's Kospi lost 0.7 per cent to 2,564.19. Hong Kong's Hang Seng recouped earlier losses, inching up 0.1 per cent to 19,172.05, while the Shanghai Composite was little changed, falling less than 0.1 per cent to 3,189.38.

“Following some early week jitters, we've now seen a return to business-as-usual in global equities. Markets are taking some comfort from U.S. economic indicators which are showing no signs of an imminent hard landing' with regard to growth,” Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said in a report.

Wall Street advanced on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 gaining 1.1 per cent and resuming an upward climb that had carried it earlier this month to its highest level in more than a year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6 per cent, while the Nasdaq composite gained 1.6 per cent.

Reports on the US economy Tuesday were largely stronger than expected. A reading on consumer confidence jumped to its highest level since the start of 2022, and orders for long-lasting manufactured goods unexpectedly grew, beating economists' forecasts for a pullback.

Sales of new homes in May also topped economists' expectations, which sent stocks of homebuilders climbing. Such data will feed into decisions by the Federal Reserve and other central banks about whether to keep cranking interest rates higher.

High rates can undercut inflation, but they also can slow the entire economy, raising the risk of a recession.

Global central banks appear to think that inflation is declining slowly. Hope on Wall Street is that a hike next month could be the final one for the Fed, even if it has suggested recently that it could raise rates twice more this year.

In energy trading, benchmark US crude lost 51 cents to USD 67.19 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 49 cents to USD 71.77 a barrel. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)