World shares mostly higher after slight gains on Wall St

It held steady at 4.26 per cent.In the foreign exchange market, the dollar rose to 131.70 Japanese yen from 131.62 yen.Tokyos surprise move on Tuesday had pulled the dollar 4per cent lower against the yen.The euro fell to USD 1.0615 from USD 1.0626.US benchmark crude oil gained 77 cents to USD 77.00 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

European shares were higher Wednesday after a mixed session in Asia in the absence of major data releases.

Germany's DAX rose 0.7 per cent to 13,987.59 while the CAC 40 in Paris jumped 1per cent to 6,514.30. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.5 per cent to 7,407.92.

The future for the S and P 500 advanced 0.7 per cent while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 0.8 per cent.

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.7per cent, to 26,387.72, a day after the Bank of Japan gave in to pressure on the yen by expanding the cap on the yield of the 10-year Japanese government bond to 0.50 per cent. It had been 0.25 per cent.

On Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 lost 2.5 per cent.

The Japanese central bank has kept its key lending rate at minus 0.1per cent for years, trying to spur growth by keeping credit ultra cheap.

The slight softening of its stance against raising interest rates to cut inflation rattled world markets on Tuesday, with bond yields pushing higher.

Higher yields make borrowing more expensive, slowing the economy. That can alleviate upward pressure on prices, but it also pulls prices for stocks and other investments lower.

The widening gap between the BOJ's benchmark rate and rising interest rates in the US and other economies has weakened the yen against the US dollar and other currencies, causing prices for imported oil, consumer goods and industrial inputs to surge and adding to pressures on its economy.

"Ultimately, the BOJ is reacting to a dysfunctioning bond market and a weakening yen. But the move also represents the fall of one of the last central bank hold-outs of ultra-low rate policy,'' Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

Central banks around the world have been raising rates at an explosive clip and a growing number of economists and investors see a recession hitting in 2023.

Both the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank have pledged to keep raising rates into next year to be sure they get inflation under control.

At the same time, fresh waves of COVID-19 infections in China, Japan and other countries are casting a shadow over pandemic recoveries.

In other Asian trading, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.3 per cent to 19,160.49 and the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.2 per cent to 3,068.41.

South Korea's Kospi lost 0.2per cent to 2,328.95. In Sydney, the S and P/ASX 200 gained 1.3 per cent to 7,115.10. Shares rose in Bangkok and Taiwan but fell in Mumbai.

On Tuesday, the S and P 500 rose 0.1 per cent while the Dow industrials climbed 0.3per cent. The Nasdaq composite barely budged, closing less than 0.1 per cent higher. Small company stocks outdid the broader market, lifting the Russell 2000 index 0.5 per cent.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 3.70 per cent from 3.59 per cent late Monday.

That yield helps set rates for mortgages and other economy-setting loans, which has already meant particular pain for the US housing market.

The two-year US Treasury yield, which tends to more closely track expectations for action from the Federal Reserve, was more reserved. It held steady at 4.26 per cent.

In the foreign exchange market, the dollar rose to 131.70 Japanese yen from 131.62 yen.

Tokyo's surprise move on Tuesday had pulled the dollar 4per cent lower against the yen.

The euro fell to USD 1.0615 from USD 1.0626.

US benchmark crude oil gained 77 cents to USD 77.00 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained 1.2 per cent on Tuesday.

Brent crude, the pricing basis for international trading, picked up 85 cents to USD80.84 per barrel.