Global shares rise as investors eye US inflation report

Global shares are higher as investors try to gauge U.S. inflation, tensions between Russia and Ukraine and the impact of the pandemic

TOKYO -- Global shares rose Thursday as investors tried to gauge U.S. inflation, tensions between Russia and Ukraine and the impact of the pandemic.

France's CAC 40 added 0.5% in early trading to 7,168.36, while Germany's DAX rose 0.7% to 15,595.10. Britain's FTSE 100 edged up 0.1% to 7,651.65. U.S. futures were mixed with the contract for the Dow industrials up 0.1% to 35,678.00. The S&P 500 future was 0.1% lower, at 4,572.25.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.4% to finish at 27,696.08. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3% to 7,288.50. South Korea's Kospi added 0.1% to 2,771.93. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.4% to 24,924.35, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.2% to 3,485.91.

Japan extended measures in Tokyo and some other places to curb outbreaks of the coronavirus for three weeks, until March 6, to try to bring the spread of the omicron variant under control.