SINGAPORE/LONDON—European and Asian shares rose on Wednesday thanks to positive news about inflation and China’s strict anti-COVID measures, while the dollar backpedaled as investors await minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.9 percent by 0835 GMT as a lower inflation reading from France boosted sentiment, adding to encouraging data from Germany earlier in the week.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 1.8 percent higher and set for a third straight day of gains for the year, having fallen 20 percent in 2022, its worst performance since 2008.
The gains in both regions showed some optimism about two of the factors that made 2022 such a hellish year for investors, namely spiraling inflation and the impact on economic growth of anti-COVID restrictions in major economies such as China….