Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after US benchmarks rose led by a surge in tech stocks.

ASX futures were up 0.2% or 14 points as of 8:00am on Wednesday, suggesting a higher open.

U.S. stocks rose as the February consumer price index is slightly hotter than anticipated, but it is not necessarily seen throwing the Fed off its track for rate cuts later this year.

The DJIA rose 235 points, or 0.6%, to 39005, the S&P 500 climbed 1.1% to a record 5175 and the Nasdaq added 1.5% to 16265.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 0.2% to US$82.36 a barrel, while gold was down 1.1% at US$2,158.67.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was down at 3.69% while the 10 Year yield was also down at 3.94%. US Treasury notes were up, with the 2 Year yield at 4.58% and the 10 Year yield at 4.15%.

The Australian dollar hit 66.01 US cents down from its previous close of 66.12. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was up at 97.58.

Asia

Chinese shares closed mixed. This year's Two Sessions was "underwhelming", Saxo Markets analysts say in a note, adding that the widening decline in property sales in March so far is also limiting improvement in the market sentiment. Among major stocks, China Mobile dropped 3.85%, and China Telecom fell 3.4%. Gainers included BYD, which added 3.2% and S.F. Holding, which rose 3.0%. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended 0.4% lower at 3055.94, while the Shenzhen Composite Index and the ChiNext Price Index each gained 0.8%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 3.05% to close at 17093.50, led by property and technology stocks. The Chinese property sector is improving on potential bank support for Vanke, and as weekly property secondary sales started to pick up, Citi analyst Griffin Chan said in a note. Among the property advancers, Longfor jumped 14%, China Resources Land rose 10% and China Overseas Land & Investment closed 9.6% higher. Tech gainers included Xiaomi, which climbed 11% on the announcement of the company's new electric vehicle, and JD.com which gained 7.9%. The Hang Seng Tech Index closed 4.6% higher.

Japanese stocks end lower, dragged by falls in chip stocks, trading houses and banks, as speculation persists over the Bank of Japan's possible shift away from its ultralow interest rate policy. Renesas Electronics dropped 4.0%, Mitsui & Co. shed 3.4% and Mizuho Financial Group lost 2.4%. The Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.1% to 38797.51. Investors are focusing on economic data, annual wage negotiations between unions and management and their policy implications. The 10-year Japanese government bond yield rose one basis point to 0.770%.

India's benchmark Sensex ended slightly higher, with all eyes on domestic consumer inflation data due later in the day for its implications on monetary policy. Technology and financial stocks led gains. HDFC Bank was 2.3% higher, Tata Consultancy Services is up 1.7% and Infosys rose 0.8%. Decliners included Nestle India, which was down 0.9% and Tata Motors, which was 1.1% lower. The Sensex closed 0.2% higher at 73667.96.

Europe

European stocks rose sharply in closing trade, tracking gains in U.S. stocks. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 1% to 506.61, having earlier hit a record intraday high of 506.91. Equity markets are shrugging off data showing an unexpected increase in U.S. inflation as investors continue to anticipate U.S. interest-rate cuts. "Despite signs of broadening price growth, investors do not appear to be unduly worried that the Fed [Federal Reserve] will have to scale back its plans to cut rates," says IG analyst Chris Beauchamp in a note. The mood could shift if the trend of higher inflation continues, he says. Germany's DAX rose 1.3% and France's CAC 40 gained 0.9%.

The FTSE 100 closed up 1.0% at 7747.81 points on Tuesday despite unemployment rising to 3.9% but annual wage growth remaining higher than the Bank of England's liking at 6.1%. "European indices have opened higher with the FTSE 100 leading the charge. China-sensitive stocks on the U.K. blue chip index are staging gains with Prudential and Standard Chartered both up over 2.5%," Interactive Investor Head of Investment Victoria Scholar wrote in a note. Entain was the day's highest riser, up 3.8%, followed by Beazley and JD Sports Fashion, up 3.6% and 3.2% respectively. Persimmon, Severn Trent and SSE were the session's biggest fallers, down 3.7%, 2.3% and 1.9% respectively.

North America

U.S. stocks rose as the February consumer price index is slightly hotter than anticipated, but it is not necessarily seen throwing the Fed off its track for rate cuts later this year.

The DJIA rose 235 points, or 0.6%, to 39005, the S&P 500 climbed 1.1% to a record 5175 and the Nasdaq added 1.5% to 16265.

Big tech shares led the charge, with Nvidia gaining 7.2%. Oracle jumped 12% after posting strong earnings and saying artificial intelligence is boosting demand for its cloud-computing business.

3M gained 5% after naming a new chief executive.

Perceived defensive sectors such as utilities and real estate were the worst performers.