Seoul Gazette - Stock markets mixed as investors track US inflation

The Dow and tech-heavy Nasdaq opened slightly higher while the broad-based S&P 500 was flat while European equities diverged in afternoon deals.

US producer prices rose 0.5 percent in April, faster than the analysts consensus of 0.3 percent, though the increase was off a lower base after the Labor Department revised the previous month's figure downward.

"It was not a good report on the surface, but it was also not as bad when factoring in downward revisions to the prior month," said Patrick O'Hare, analyst at Briefing.com.

All eyes are now on April's US consumer price index (CPI) on Wednesday, which carries more weight with the Federal Reserve and investors.

"Everyone is in 'standby' mode ahead of this week's release of US inflation data," said David Morrison, senior analyst at Trade Nation.

Analysts said a miss in either direction on CPI could have a big impact on markets.

"They have the potential to confirm the disturbing upward trend in US inflation that's become apparent over the course of this year so far," Morrison said.

"Should we see a significant fall in the numbers, that would help bolster positive sentiment and keep the May rally going."

This week's economic releases follow forecast-beating US figures for the first three months of the year that have prompted investors to whittle down their expectations for the number of rate cuts -- from six in January to at most two now.

The European Central Bank and Bank of England are also under the magnifying glass for when they could start to cut rates as inflation cools.

UK borrowing costs are expected to be lowered in August but traders have not ruled out a decrease in June, when the ECB is forecast to start trimming interest rates for the eurozone.

Among individual stocks, shares in Anglo American slid 2.5 percent in London after the British mining group announced plans to streamline its business as it fends off a takeover worth $43 billion from rival BHP.

Anglo said it would offload coal, diamond and platinum units to focus on critical minerals.

British mobile phone giant Vodafone said its annual profit slumped, but its shares jumped 3.5 percent as chief executive Margherita Della Valle pledged to continue the company's focus on core activities.

The US market has been marked in recent days by the return of so-called "meme stocks", or smaller companies whose shares are driven higher by individual day traders.

Video game retailer GameStop, AMC Entertainment and solar energy company SunPower have all seen their shares skyrocket so far this week.

In Asian trading, leading stock markets closed mixed.

After the market shut, Hong Kong-quoted Alibaba said revenue rose a modest eight percent in its most recent fiscal year as it prepares to split into six companies.

- Key figures around 1340 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 39,482.70 points

New York - S&P 500: FLAT at 5,223.28

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 16,410.35

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,441.99

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 8,219.73

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.2 percent at 18,706.89

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.1 percent at 5,075.10

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.5 percent at 38,356.06 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 19,073.71 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,145.77 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0818 from $1.0792 on Monday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2573 from $1.2555

Dollar/yen: UP at 156.35 yen from 156.21 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 86.04 from 85.93 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.3 percent at $78.08 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.1 percent at $82.43 per barrel

burs-gv/lth

Z.Ryu--SG