Stock market today: Global shares mixed as investors eye profit reports and inflation

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TOKYO (AP) — Global shares are mixed as investors digest a slew of profit reports while keeping an eye on the latest inflation data. France’s CAC 40 gained 0.3% in early trading to 7,345.07. Germany’s DAX rose 0.2% to 16,143.18. Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.6% to 7,636.32. The future for the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up less than 0.1%. On Wednesday, Wall Street advanced on strong profit reports from banks and other big U.S. companies. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% and has rising nearly 19% this year. It’s at its highest level in more than 15 months. The Dow industrials gained 0.3% and the Nasdaq composite edged up less than 0.1%. The earnings reporting season is picking up momentum in its second week. Analysts are forecasting a third straight quarter of weaker earnings per share for S&P 500 companies, but that low bar makes it easier for companies to top expectations. Netflix reported that its subscriber base grew while profit was weaker than forecast. Its shares sank 6.9% in pre-market trading. Tesla’s results, although positive, also proved disappointing. Its shares were down 3% in pre-market trading. Japan reported Thursday that it logged a trade surplus in June for the first time in nearly two years as imports sank nearly 13%, largely due to lower oil prices and a weak Japanese yen. Exports rose only 1.5% from a year earlier despite sharp increases in shipments of vehicles as supply chain problems eased. Economists say they anticipate weaker exports in coming months as demand in other major economies slows. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 declined 1.2% to 32,490.52. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added less than 0.1% to 7,325.00. South Korea’s Kospi edged down 0.3% to 2,600.23. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.1% to 18,928.02, while the Shanghai Composite shed 0.9% to 3,169.52. The tepid results for Netflix and Tesla may have made Asian investors cautious, Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said in a commentary. “But with inflation easing and odds for a soft landing rising, investors may adopt an ‘it could have been worse mood,’ ” Innes added. In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude added 11 cents to $75.40 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 9 cents to $79.55 a barrel. The U.S. dollar fell to 139.53 Japanese yen from 139.68 yen. The euro cost $1.1213, up from $1.1204.