Australia

Australian shares are heading up this morning following a strong session on Wall Street. US indices posted gains Monday as investors awaited the July consumer-price index report, due later this week.

ASX futures were 21 points or 0.3% higher as of 6:00am on Tuesday, suggesting gains at the open.

A climb in the shares of Berkshire Hathaway and other blue-chip companies led the US market higher on Monday, helping Wall Street bounce back from a stretch of losses.

The Omaha, Neb., company, which owns businesses including Geico and BNSF Railway, ended the session at a record stock price after swinging to a second-quarter profit. Berkshire's class B shares rose 3.6% to $362.58, marking their first new all-time high since March 2022 -- when the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates.

The climb helped lift the S&P 500 to a 0.9% daily gain, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 408 points, or 1.2%.

The Nasdaq Composite looked set for losses in early trading, dragged lower by Tesla shares that slid as much as 4.4% after the departure of longtime Chief Financial Officer Zachary Kirkhorn. The electric-car maker finished 1% lower, but the tech-heavy Nasdaq index notched a 0.6% advance. The Canadian benchmark S&P/TSX Composite also gained 0.6%.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil dipped 0.7% to US$85.64 a barrel while gold shed 0.3% to US$1,936.85.

Australian government bonds were unchanged, with the 2 Year yield at 3.92% and the 10 Year yield at 4.19%. Meanwhile, US Treasury notes were mixed, with the 2 Year yield retreating to 4.77% and the 10 Year yield edging up to 4.09%.

The Australian dollar moved up slightly, to 65.71 US cents from its previous close of 65.68. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, rose to 96.80.

Asia

Chinese shares closed lower, weighed by property developers amid rumors of a city government taking over the indebted Country Garden, which is one of the country's biggest developers. Its rivals China Vanke and China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Holdings declined 3.4% and 3.5%, respectively. Pharmaceutical companies were also lower with Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics dropping 6.0% and Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine declining 4.7%. Investors were focused on Chinese inflation data, July credit data and key earnings by some top Chinese tech companies. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.6% lower at 3268.83. The Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 0.7% and the tech-heavy ChiNext Price Index retreated 1.0%.

Hong Kong shares ended flat after a volatile session, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index swinging between gains and losses to close at 19537.92. Pharma companies were among the biggest losers amid regulatory concerns. After China's top anti-graft watchdog announced a crackdown on corruption in the sector, several cities have followed suit over the past week, state media reported. Hansoh Pharmaceutical slumped 10% and Sino Biopharmaceutical sank 5.6%. Developers added to the losses amid fresh stability concerns. Debt-laden Country Garden Holdings fell 7.7% amid talk that it might be taken over by a local government. Wharf Real Estate Investment slid 5.8% despite swinging to 1H profit. Energy and consumer services stocks led the gains. Haidilao surged 4.9% and Cnooc added 2.6%. The Hang Seng Tech Index rose 0.05%.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average edged 0.2% higher to close at 32254.56, reversing earlier losses amid mild gains in US stock-index futures. The US inflation debate will likely be front and center this week to determine whether the equity-market rally can continue after a pause last week, Charu Chanana, market strategist at Saxo Markets, said in a commentary. Among the best performers on the benchmark index was Astellas Pharma, which jumped 10%, Unicharm, which climbed 8.4%, and Toray Industries with a 5.7% rise.

Indian shares ended higher, led by gains in industrial and technology stocks amid continuing hopes for earnings growth. Mahindra & Mahindra gained 4.2% and Infosys rose 1.0%. Among individual movers, Punjab & Sind Bank shed 6.6% after its 1Q net profit dropped 25% on year. The benchmark Sensex index rose 0.4% to 65953.48.

Europe

European stocks edged higher after a mixed session in Asia, while US stocks appeared likely to rise. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 and the French CAC 40 both added 0.1% while the German DAX closed flat. German nonferrous metal supplier Aurubis dropped 9.5% after announcing nine-month earnings results.

"Investors will closely watch inflation figures from both the US and China this week," IG analysts wrote. "Last month's downside surprise in US CPI had a substantial positive market impact, so there's a risk that meeting expectations might disappoint investors."

The United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 closed Monday down 0.1% after a quiet session, with little in the way of positive drivers to help sustain Friday's rebound. Monday's trading has been a mixed bag for the British index with basic resources acting as a drag on the wider market, along with weakness in the energy sector, noted CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.

"The big caps of Glencore, Anglo American, BP and Shell are acting as the main drag on the UK benchmark," Hewson said. The quiet day means the main focus for traders appears to have turned to this week's inflation numbers from the US and China, Hewson added.

North America

A climb in the shares of Berkshire Hathaway and other blue-chip companies led the US market higher on Monday, helping Wall Street bounce back from a stretch of losses.

The Omaha, Neb., company, which owns businesses including Geico and BNSF Railway, ended the session at a record stock price after swinging to a second-quarter profit. Berkshire's class B shares rose 3.6% to $362.58, marking their first new all-time high since March 2022 -- when the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates.

The climb helped lift the S&P 500 to a 0.9% daily gain, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 408 points, or 1.2%.

The Nasdaq Composite looked set for losses in early trading, dragged lower by Tesla shares that slid as much as 4.4% after the departure of longtime Chief Financial Officer Zachary Kirkhorn. The electric-car maker finished 1% lower, but the tech-heavy Nasdaq index notched a 0.6% advance. The Canadian benchmark S&P/TSX Composite also gained 0.6%.

"If you assume Berkshire is a microcosm of the broader economy, there's a bull case for the broadening out of the stock market rally away from just tech stocks," said Catherine Seifert, vice president of equity research at CFRA.

A strong quarter for insurance and reinsurance and gains in Warren Buffett's investment portfolio boosted the conglomerate. Seifert said that underneath the hood, the behemoth's performance paints a different picture: Berkshire's railroad, energy and manufacturing holdings dragged. She expects higher rates to continue putting pressure on old economy sectors.

Investors expect a fresh look at the prospect for rates from highly anticipated inflation data later this week. Inflation has inched toward the Fed's 2% target, but investors are leery that the final mile could prove tricky -- encouraging policy makers to keep rates restrictive for months to come. Wage gains are outpacing inflation, and rebounding gas prices could boost headline figures.

Thursday's consumer-price index will be followed by supplier inflation data the following day. Wall Street will also look to University of Michigan's consumer survey on Friday for signs that Americans' confidence has waned or their expectations for inflation in the years ahead have become unmoored from the Fed's target. Investors are hoping for signs that inflation is steadily easing to aid in recovering from last week's losses.

"The inflation story is alive and well," said Ryan Belanger, founder and managing principal of Claro Advisors, a Boston-based money manager with $700 million under management.

The Fed raised rates to a 22-year high in July, signaling that further increases are on the table. On Monday, Fed governor Michelle Bowman said that additional rate increases will likely be needed to tame inflation. Her prepared remarks at a Fed Listens event in Atlanta echoed sentiment she expressed over the weekend: Inflation is too high, and solid job growth and economic expansion provide further fuel to it lingering.

"Given these developments, I supported raising the federal-funds rate at our July meeting, and I expect that additional increases will likely be needed to lower inflation to the [Federal Open Market Committee's] goal, " Bowman said.

"I will be looking for evidence that inflation is on a consistent and meaningful downward path as I consider whether further increases in the federal-funds rate will be needed, and how long the federal-funds rate will need to remain at a sufficiently restrictive level," she added.

Meanwhile, shares of Tyson Foods fell 3.8%, among the worst performances among S&P 500 companies Monday, after the Arkansas-based company's slumping chicken business led to a $417 million quarterly loss, disappointing Wall Street analysts.