Global stocks sink as traders await US inflation numbers
By JOE McDONALD
AP Business Writers
BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets are lower as investors wait for U.S. inflation data amid unease about higher interest rates, Chinese efforts to contain coronavirus outbreaks and Russia’s war on Ukraine. London, Frankfurt, Tokyo and Seoul fell. Shanghai and Hong Kong advanced after authorities in Shanghai said they would ease a shutdown of China’s business capital. Wall Street futures were lower after the benchmark S&P 500 index slid 1.7%. Investors are waiting for a new round of corporate results to see how profits are affected by inflation that is at a four-decade high. Markets are uneasy about plans by the Federal Reserve and other central banks to try to cool inflation by rolling back ultra-low interest rates.