Global shares rise ahead of Fed minutes, while UK inflation lifts the pound

Ahead of the minutes from the Federal Reserve meeting where investors will be watching for any hints of further rate hikes, global shares rose on Wednesday.

Wall Street's main benchmarks were in the red while the world index was in the green.

The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow were both down, as were the ones for theNasdaq 100.

The decline suggested a reversal of the previous session's gains in the US benchmark.

US retail sales have been positive every single month this year apart from a slight drop in May, and the Fed minutes will be of interest to investors. US households are starting to feel the effects of high inflation, as consumer spending is their main source of income.

The latest US retail sales report from July, which saw peak gasoline prices in the US mid-month, will be watched by the market today, as will the minutes from the Fed's last meeting.

After UK inflation hit its highest in decades above market expectations, the British pound was up 0.14% against the dollar. With the Bank of England forecasting inflation will peak above 13%, investors will scoop up the pound in anticipation of higher returns compared to other currencies.

Two years of negative growth doesn't stop the Bank of England from continuing with hikes in the future, according to SEB Group.

After a recent slump, the global benchmark, Brent crude, rose 0.24% to trade at $92.50 a barrel, but still remains at its lowest in over a year. The US West Texas Intermediate increased in value to trade at $86.77. Data on Tuesday showed a big decline in fuel inventories.

There is a chance of a supply increase because of the discussions over Iranian oil. Iran's nuclear activities are being discussed by the western powers. The US imposed a ban on Iran's oil exports after walking away from the international accord. There is a chance that a breakthrough will lead to a restart of Iranian shipments. Iran's production capacity is close to 4 million barrels per day, making it the third largest producer in the group.

After a drop in stocks earlier this week after weak Chinese economic data, Asian stocks rebounded, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and China's CSI 300 rising 1.23%, 0.46 and 0.94%, respectively.