Australia

Australian shares rose on Tuesday following a moderate gain on Wall Street. Uncertainty regarding the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision tomorrow tamed optimism from November’s inflation data.

ASX futures rose 20 points or 0.27% at 7234 as of 7:00am on Wednesday, pointing to a gain at the open.

Following the CPI report, US stocks gave up much of Tuesday morning’s gains later in the afternoon. The S&P 500, up 2.8% at its high, gained 0.7% near the end of trading. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, gave up a 3.8% gain to instead trade 1% higher.

The US indices turned as investors anticipate the release of the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision tomorrow, with a half-percentage-point increase widely expected.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil gained 3.56% to $US80.77 a barrel and gold edged up 1.65% to US$1,810.89.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds increased to 3.1% while the 10 Year rose to 3.40%. Overseas, the yield on 2 Year US Treasury notes slipped to 4.23% and the yield on the 10 Year US Treasury notes decreased to 3.5%.

The Australian dollar hit 68.59 US cents up from the previous close of 67.45. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, fell to 97.00.

Asia

Chinese stocks finished lower, as the market continued to retreat from an upturn in the previous session driven by the country's reopening. Software companies and chip makers weighed on the market. Yonyou Network Technology fell 3.0% and Jinko Solar declined 5.6%. Gainers included stocks in the transportation sector. Beijing Shanghai High Speed Railway reversed last week's losses to rise by 3.1% and Air China gained 4.5%. The Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.1% to 3176.33, the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 0.6% and the ChiNext Price Index closed 1.1% lower.

Hong Kong shares ended slightly higher, as the rally spurred by optimism over China's reopening continued. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 0.7% to settle at 19596.20. Chip makers and tech stocks led gainers, with Hua Hong Semiconductor rising 17.4% and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. gaining 9.4%. The Hang Seng Tech Index added 0.7%, with Meituan and Kuaishou up 2.0% and 4.5% respectively. Laggards included pharmaceutical stocks, with Chinese vaccine producer CanSino Biologics dropping 6.9% and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical losing 2.4%.

Japanese stocks ended higher, led by gains in pharmaceutical and shipping stocks, as hopes continued for the Fed's slower tightening. Takeda Pharmaceutical gained 2.7% and Nippon Yusen climbed 2.2%. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.4% to 27954.85.

Europe

European stocks rose in closing trade as investors reacted to data that showed US inflation easing more than expected in November. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 rose 1.3%, the British FTSE 100 climbed 0.8%, the German DAX gained 1.3%, and the French CAC 40 advanced 1.4%. US inflation eased to an annual rate of 7.1% in November from 7.7% in October, below forecasts of 7.3% in a WSJ survey of analysts. That "offered a boost to those who think that the Federal Reserve may not have to go as hard, or as far on rate hikes as we head into 2023," CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson wrote. The Fed's next interest rate decision is tomorrow.

North America

Following the CPI report, US stocks gave up much of Tuesday morning’s gains later in the afternoon. The S&P 500, up 2.8% at its high, gained 0.7% near the end of trading. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, gave up a 3.8% gain to instead trade 1% higher.

The US indices turned as investors anticipate the release of the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision tomorrow, with a half-percentage-point increase widely expected.

"The Fed is still going to focus on the labor market imbalance, a dovish pivot is still a long ways off, and in the meantime companies and consumers have to recalibrate to the impact of higher interest rates and a slowing economy," wrote BMO Wealth Management chief investment strategist Yung-Yu Ma in a note Tuesday.

Markets will remain "choppy" in the near term, but an improving inflation backdrop creates a positive bias, Mr. Ma added.