Seoul Gazette - Stocks steady as traders weigh inflation data, trade deal

The US reading Tuesday preceded official data Wednesday showing an unexpected rise to British inflation.

"A higher-than-expected (June) inflation reading in the US... is one of the first data points to suggest tariffs are beginning to have some impact on prices," noted AJ Bell investment analyst Dan Coatsworth.

"While this impact looks fairly modest for now, this reading obviously comes before the more onerous levies on imports which are currently lined up for introduction at the beginning of August," he added.

The dollar dipped against main rivals after President Donald Trump said a trade deal had been struck with Indonesia which will see the US impose tariffs of 19 percent on its goods, below the 32 percent previously threatened.

US shipments will not be taxed.

The Indonesia deal meant Trump has struck tariffs agreements with three countries, with around two dozen in the pipeline ahead of the president's August 1 deadline.

The EU's top trade negotiator Maros Sefcovic was jetting to Washington on Wednesday for talks with his US counterparts as the bloc renews its push to settle the transatlantic tariffs standoff.

Some have suggested a healthy run-up on Wall Street over the past few weeks could be giving him confidence to keep the threats up.

In Europe, shares in Renault tumbled nearly 17 percent Wednesday, a day after the French car giant lowered its annual financial outlook.

Renault did not specifically mention tariffs, despite the global auto sector being targeted by Trump.

Trump on Tuesday warned that he could begin imposing tolls on imports of semiconductors and pharmaceuticals from August 1.

While the Indonesia trade deal was welcomed, investor confidence was dented by data showing US inflation jumped to 2.7 percent last month.

The figure "finally provided ample evidence that tariffs are being passed onto consumers", said Economists at Bank of America.

The data saw the probability of a Fed rate cut in September slip to just a little higher than 50 percent. The dollar briefly rallied past 149 yen for the first time since April.

Tech firms extended gains after US titan Nvidia said it would resume exports of key chips to China following Washington's pledge to remove licensing curbs.

California-based Nvidia, one of the world's most valuable companies, said Tuesday it would restart sales of its H20 artificial intelligence semiconductors to China, having been stopped by Trump's tightened export licensing requirements in April.

CEO Jensen Huang said they would be shipping "very soon".

The news boosted tech firms around the world, with Wall Street's Nasdaq rising to another record high, while the S&P 500 and Dow fell Tuesday.

- Key figures at around 1100 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,953.93 points

Paris - CAC 40: FLAT at 7,766.78

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.3 percent at 24,120.08

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 39,663.40 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 24,517.76 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: FLAT at 3,503.78 (close)

New York - Dow: DOWN 1.0 percent at 44,023.29 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1620 from $1.1606 on Tuesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3402 from $1.3383

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 148.71 yen from 148.85 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 86.71 pence from 86.69 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.6 percent at $66.71 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.5 percent at $68.76 per barrel

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C.Noh--SG