Global stocks sink as traders await US inflation numbers

Global stock markets are lower as investors wait for U.S. inflation data amid unease about higher interest rates, Chinese efforts to contain coronavirus outbreaks and Russia’s war on Ukraine

BEIJING -- Global stocks and Wall Street futures sank Tuesday as investors waited for U.S. inflation data amid unease about higher interest rates, Chinese efforts to contain coronavirus outbreaks and Russia's war on Ukraine.

London, Frankfurt, Tokyo and Seoul fell. Shanghai and Hong Kong advanced. Oil prices rose more than $3 per barrel.

Investors were waiting for U.S. consumer price data and a new round of corporate results to see how profits are affected by inflation that is at a four-decade high.

Markets are uneasy about plans by the Federal Reserve and other central banks to try to cool inflation by rolling back ultra-low interest rates. Adding to their anxiety are Russia's attack on Ukraine and China's decision to shut down most businesses in Shanghai, its commercial capital, to fight coronavirus outbreaks.