Shares Mixed in Europe, Asia; Oil Gains08/12 04:55

   Shares were mixed Wednesday in Europe and Asia ahead of the release of key 
U.S. inflation data for July, while oil prices advanced as doubts persisted 
over when the war with Iran will allow crude to flow freely again.

   BANGKOK (AP) -- Shares were mixed Wednesday in Europe and Asia ahead of the 
release of key U.S. inflation data for July, while oil prices advanced as 
doubts persisted over when the war with Iran will allow crude to flow freely 
again.

   The future for the S&P 500 gained 0.2%, while that for the Dow Jones 
Industrial Average was nearly unchanged.

   In early European trading, Germany's DAX rose 0.3% to 26,480.04, while the 
CAC 40 in Paris fell 0.2%, to 8,698.79.

   Britain's FTSE 100 edged 0.1% lower.

   During Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 0.8% to 67,524.06.

   In South Korea, the Kospi gained 3.7% to 6,579.04 on renewed buying of 
computer chipmakers. Samsung Electronics gained 6.7% and memory chipmaker SK 
Hynix was up 5.5%.

   Taiwan's Taiex advanced 0.9%.

   The Shanghai Composite index added 0.3% to 3,946.68, while the Hang Seng in 
Hong Kong slipped 0.8% to 25,440.17.

   In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.5% to 9,209.40.

   The price of a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, was up 1% 
at $89.79 early Wednesday. U.S. benchmark crude oil picked up 1% to $84.07.

   Iran has rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's comment that since Iran is 
seeking compensation as part of any talks on ending the war, he would demand 
the same.

   The United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February, which led to 
the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and kept much of the world's oil pent up in 
the Middle East. Last month alone, Brent's price veered between $72 and $102 
per barrel.

   Meanwhile an attack by Iran-backed Houthi rebels on a vessel in the Bab 
el-Mandeb strait, at Yemen's southern tip, has raised concerns that the 
violence could reignite civil war and further threaten regional shipping routes.

   "The renewed hostilities between the US and Iran suggest that a long-term 
reduction in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is now the most likely 
scenario," Ben May, director of global macro research at Oxford Economics, said 
in a report.

   The report forecast that Brent crude will average $85 a barrel for the rest 
of this year before gradually falling to about $65 a barrel by late 2027.

   Higher oil prices make inflation worse, and they have sent the average cost 
for a gallon of regular gasoline to $4.01, according to AAA. That's up from 
less than $3.14 a year ago.

   That has Wall Street's attention focused on Wednesday, when the U.S. 
government will release the latest monthly reading on inflation. Economists 
expect it to show inflation slipped to 3.4% in July from 3.5% in June.

   Tuesday on Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.3% for a second modest drop since 
setting its all-time high on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 
184 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.6%.

   Cooler inflation could relieve pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise 
interest rates to help tamp down price increases. Higher rates could curb 
inflation but they also would drag on the overall U.S. economy by making it 
more expensive for households and businesses to borrow money. They also would 
undercut prices for stocks and other investments.

   Treasury yields have jumped since the war with Iran because of higher oil 
prices and worries about inflation, sending long-term mortgage rates to their 
highest levels in a year.

   In other dealings early Wednesday, the U.S. dollar slipped to 159.22 
Japanese yen from 159.30 yen. The euro was unchanged at $1.1544.