HONG KONG: World shares were mixed, and US futures edged lower on Tuesday ahead of an update on US consumer prices.

In early European trading, the FTSE 100 in London edged up less than 1 per cent to 10,144.50. Germany's DAX fell 0.2 per cent to 25,356.32, while the CAC 40 in Paris dropped 0.5 per cent to 8,316.63.

The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.2 per cent.

Later Tuesday, the US Labour Department was due to report consumer inflation in December. It is expected that consumer prices rose 2.6 per cent in December compared with a year earlier, according to economists' estimates compiled by data provider FactSet.

Inflation likely remained elevated last month as the cost of electricity, groceries, and clothing may have jumped and continued to pressure consumers' wallets.

Asian shares mostly gained, led by a rally in Japan. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 surged 3.1 per cent to 53,549.16 at close, a record. Technology-related stocks helped lift the benchmark. Compute chip testing equipment maker Advantest surged 8.5 per cent. Chip maker Tokyo Electron jumped 8.2 per cent, and SoftBank Group rose 4.3 per cent.

The dollar rose to 158.92 yen, up from 158.07 yen. The dollar has been trading near its highest level against the yen in more than a year on what market watchers call the “Takaichi trade” for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office in October.

Takaichi is expected to try to capitalise on her relatively high public ratings to call a snap election, hoping to strengthen her mandate for higher government spending. That has led to a weakening in the yen.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.9 per cent to 26,848.47. Shares of China-based chip designer GigaDevice Semiconductor jumped as much as 54 per cent in the company's Hong Kong trading debut. The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.6 per cent to 4,138.76.

South Korea's Kospi closed 1.5 per cent higher at 4,692.64 at close, also a record.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained nearly 0.6 per cent to 8,808.50. Taiwan's Taiex rose 0.5 per cent, while the Sensex in India lost almost 0.3 per cent.

On Monday, concern over the potential consequences of a weakening of the Federal Reserve's independence in setting interest rates appeared to be offset by investors' expectations that President Donald Trump may prevail in pushing the central bank to cut rates at a faster pace. Lower interest rates mean cheap credit and tend to fuel stronger stock prices.

Tensions between Trump and Fed Chair Jerome Powell escalated after the Department of Justice subpoenaed the Fed and threatened a criminal indictment over Powell's testimony regarding building renovations at the central bank's headquarters.

The S&P 500 gained almost 0.2 per cent on Monday to 6,977.27, a new record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also edged up 0.2 per cent, to 49,590.20, for its own record. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.3 per cent to 23,733.90.

Trump has repeatedly called for the Fed to further lower interest rates and reduce borrowing costs for households and companies, even as the Fed cut rates three times in 2025. The White House said Monday that Trump did not direct his Justice Department to investigate Powell.

Alphabet, Google's parent, gained 1 per cent on Monday, taking its market value to more than USD 4 trillion, after Apple said it would use Google's Gemini to help smarten up virtual assistant Siri in a new deal.

Credit card companies led losses after Trump said he wanted a one-year, 10 per cent cap on credit card interest rates, which could eat into the profits of these companies. Synchrony Financial dipped 8.4 per cent, Capital One Financial fell 6.4 per cent, and American Express edged down 4.3 per cent.

In other dealings early Tuesday, the price of gold dipped 0.5 per cent, and the price of silver picked up 0.4 per cent.

The euro edged up to USD 1.1669 from USD 1.1667.