Bangkok, Jul 16 (AP) Shares were mixed on Wednesday in Europe and Asia after an update on US inflation pulled most Wall Street stocks lower, though gains for Nvidia pushed the Nasdaq to another record.

The report showed inflation in the United States accelerated to 2.7 per cent last month from 2.4 per cent in May.

Economists said higher prices for clothes, toys and other goods that usually are imported suggest stiffer tariffs that President Donald Trump has imposed on other countries are fuelling inflation.

Germany's DAX edged 0.1 per cent higher to 24,074.54, while the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.1 per cent to 7,755.90. Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.1 per cent at 8,950.11.

The future for the S and P 500 fell less than 0.1 per cent while that for the Dow industrials was little changed.

In Asian trading, tokyo's Nikkei 225 edged less than 0.1 per cent lower, to 39,663.40. Investors are focusing on the potential impact of an election for the Upper House of Parliament on Sunday that is expected to lead to tax cuts and higher spending as lawmakers try to restore the waning popularity of the ruling Liberal Democrats.

Worries over a deterioration in Japan's fiscal health have pushed yields of long-term Japanese government bonds to their highest levels in years.

“What's at stake isn't simply which party hands out the biggest bundle of goodies. It's whether the walls holding up Japan's house of debt can withstand another round of fiscal fireworks…” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.3 per cent to 24,517.76, while the Shanghai Composite index slipped less than 0.1 per cent to 3,503.78.

South Korea's Kospi lost 0.9 per cent to 3,186.38 and in Australia, the S and P/ASX 200 declined 0.8 per cent to 8,561.80.

Taiwan's Taiex jumped 0.9 per cent and India's Sensex added 0.2 per cent. Thailand's SET dropped 0.3 per cent.

In Jakarta, shares rose 0.7 per cent after President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that he plans to charge imports from Indonesia a tariff of 19 per cent, while American goods sent to the Southeast Asian country will face no tariffs.

Trump also said Indonesia committed to buying US energy, agricultural products and aircraft.

On Tuesday, the S and P 500 fell 0.4 per cent, staying near its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1 per cent, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2 per cent to a record 20,677.80 thanks to Nvidia, the market's most influential stock.

Nvidia said the US government has assured it that licenses will be granted for its H20 chip, used for artificial intelligence, again and that deliveries will hopefully begin soon. Its 4 per cent gain was by far the strongest force pushing upward on the S and P 500.

Wall Street loves lower interest rates because they goose prices higher for stocks and other investments, and Trump himself has been clamouring for the Federal Reserve to cut rates more quickly. But the Fed has been keeping interest rates on hold this year since lower rates can give inflation more fuel while they boost the economy.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell has insisted he wants to see more data about how tariffs affect the economy and inflation.

In other dealings early Wednesday, US benchmark crude oil shed 21 cents to USD 66.31 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, slipped 31 cents at USD 68.40 per barrel.

The dollar fell to 148.79 Japanese yen from 148.87 yen. The euro was at USD 1.1630, up from USD 1.1602. (AP) PY PY

Tariffs driving inflation: trade duties pushing up import prices and influencing monetary policy and market reactions. Tariff measures on imported consumer goods are identified as contributing to higher domestic prices for apparel, toys and related products, transmitting customs-duty cost increases into inflationary pressure. A specific bilateral trade action imposes a tariff on imports from a trading partner while exempting that partner from tariffs on exports, coupled with purchase commitments; authorities and markets are monitoring how these trade measures affect inflation data and monetary-policy decisions.