Stock market today: World shares track Wall Street rally as Britain reports inflation fell in June

BANGKOK — Shares opened higher in Europe on Wednesday, taking their cues from gains in Asia and on Wall Street. U.S. futures were little changed and oil prices fell.

Britain reported inflation fell to 7.9% in June, a 15-month low. Economists had forecast inflation would decline to 8.2%, but it did better than that thanks to falling fuel prices and milder food price increases.

It’s a relief for struggling consumers and is a further welcome sign that upward price pressures are abating. That has raised hopes among investors that central banks might begin winding down the latest cycle of interest rate hikes.

Britain’s FTSE 100 advanced 1.3% to 7,552.03 and Germany’s DAX was up 0.2%, at 16,165.07. In Paris, the CAC40 gained 0.6% to 7,360.78.

The future for the S&P 500 edged less than 0.1% higher and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1%.

In Asian trading, Hong Kong’s Hang…