Asian shares track Wall Street gains on cooling inflation

BANGKOK — Shares advanced Thursday in Asia after benchmarks closed at three-month highs on Wall Street as investors cheered a report showing inflation cooled more than expected in July.

Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul saw gains of more than 1%. Tokyo was closed for a holiday. U.S. futures edged higher, while oil prices slipped.

The government said Wednesday that consumer inflation jumped 8.5% in July from a year earlier. But that was down from June’s four-decade high of 9.1%.

The S&P 500 surged 2.1% on expectations that slower inflation will mean the Federal Reserve may moderate its interest rates hikes. Technology stocks, cryptocurrencies and other investments that have been among the year’s biggest losers due to the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes led the way.

Asian markets also took heart. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 2.2% to 20,044.76, while the Shanghai Composite…