Overnight, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.5% to near last week’s all-time high after Fed chairman Jerome Powell said inflation is mostly in areas that suffer supply shortages.
Also Wednesday, the preliminary version of a monthly survey of Japanese manufacturers showed June activity weakened amid shortages of processor chips and anti-coronavirus restrictions.
Most major central banks have kept interest rates near record lows over the past year, helping to propel a stock market rebound.