World shares mostly gain after Dow tumbles into bear market

A currency trader walks near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. Asian shares were mostly lower Monday, reflecting pessimism over weakness on Wall Street as the squeeze by central banks around the world to curb inflation weighs on investor sentiments. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A currency trader watches computer monitors at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. Asian shares were mostly lower Monday, reflecting pessimism over weakness on Wall Street as the squeeze by central banks around the world to curb inflation weighs on investor sentiments. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A currency trader watches computer monitors near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. Asian shares were mostly lower Monday, reflecting pessimism over weakness on Wall Street as the squeeze by central banks around the world to curb inflation weighs on investor sentiments. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

American flags fly outside the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, in New York. Stocks tumbled worldwide Friday on more signs the global economy is weakening, just as central banks raise the pressure even more with additional interest rate hikes. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Pedestrian walk in an alley next to the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, in New York. Stocks tumbled worldwide Friday on more signs the global economy is weakening, just as central banks raise the pressure even more with additional interest rate hikes. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

A trader stands outside the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, in New York. Stocks tumbled worldwide Friday on more signs the global economy is weakening, just as central banks raise the pressure even more with additional interest rate hikes. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

A currency trader watches monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Stocks were mixed in Asia on Tuesday after closing broadly lower on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell into what’s known as a bear market. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader watches monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Stocks were mixed in Asia on Tuesday after closing broadly lower on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell into what’s known as a bear market. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader passes by screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the exchange rate of South Korean won against the U.S. dollar at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Stocks were mixed in Asia on Tuesday after closing broadly lower on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell into what’s known as a bear market. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Street signs at the intersection of Wall and Broad Streets are shown in lower Manhattan, Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Stocks were mixed in Asia on Tuesday after closing broadly lower on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell into what’s known as a bear market. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

World shares were mostly higher on Tuesday as buying kicked in after heavy selling on Wall Street put the Dow Jones Industrial Average into what’s known as a bear market.

U.S. futures and oil prices gained.

In early European trading, Germany's DAX climbed 0.7% to 12,315.01 while the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.8% to 5,812.41. In London, the FTSE 100 edged 0.1% higher to 7,029.46.

The future for the S&P 500 jumped 1.3%, while the contract for the Dow industrials was 1% higher.

In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index picked up 0.5% to 26,571.87 and the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.4% to 6,496.20. In Seoul, the Kospi rebounded from earlier losses, edging 0.1% higher to 2,223.86.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng added just 5 points, to 17,860.31. The Shanghai Composite index jumped 1.4% to 3,093.86 after China's central bank on Tuesday moved to maintain cash flow for banks by buying securities from commercial lenders, with an agreement to sell them back in the future.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the People's Bank of China carried out 175 billion yuan (about $24.7 billion) in reverse repos “to maintain liquidity in the banking system."

Global stocks have been sagging under concerns over stubbornly hot inflation and the risk that central banks could trigger recessions as they try to cool high prices for everything from food to clothing.

Investors have been particularly focusing on the Federal Reserve and its aggressive interest rate hikes. But volatility in currency markets has further roiled markets.

The British pound dropped to an all-time low against the dollar on Monday and investors continued to dump British government bonds in displeasure over a sweeping tax cut plan announced in London last week. It had stabilized by early Tuesday.

The Japanese yen edged toward 145 to the dollar early Tuesday. Last week, the Bank of Japan intervened in the market as the yen slipped past 145, gaining a brief reprieve. But the dollar's surge against other currencies is putting pressure on the BOJ and other central banks, especially in developing economies facing growing costs for repaying foreign loans.

On Tuesday, the pound was at $1.0809, up from $1.0686 late Monday. The dollar bought 144.33 yen, down from 144.65 yen, and the euro rose to 96.36 cents from 96.10 cents.

Companies are nearing the close of the third quarter and with the next round of earnings reports investors will get a better sense of how companies are dealing with persistent inflation.

Several economic reports are on tap for this week that will give more details on consumer spending, the jobs market and the broader health of the U.S. economy.

The latest consumer confidence report, for September, from the business group The Conference Board will be released on Tuesday. The government will release its weekly report on unemployment benefits on Thursday, along with an updated report on second-quarter gross domestic product.

On Friday, the government will release another report on personal income and spending that will help provide more details on where and how inflation is hurting consumer spending.

Seeking to make borrowing more expensive and crimp spending, the Fed raised its benchmark rate, which affects many consumer and business loans, again last week. It now sits at a range of 3% to 3.25%. It was near zero at the start of the year. The Fed also released a forecast suggesting its benchmark rate could be 4.4% by the year’s end, a full point higher than envisioned in June.

The U.S. economy is already slowing, raising worries that rate hikes might cause a recession. The Dow was the last of the major U.S. stock indexes to fall into what’s known as a bear market on Monday, falling 1.1% to 29,260.81.

The Dow is now 20.5% below its all-time high set on Jan. 4. A drop of 20% or more from a recent peak is what Wall Street calls a bear market.

The S&P 500 fell 1% to 3,655.04. The Nasdaq dropped 0.6% to 10,802.92, while the Russell 2000 dropped 1.4% to close at 1,655.88.

In other trading on Tuesday, U.S. benchmark crude added $1.26 to $77.97 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It sank $2.03 to $76.71 on Monday.

Brent crude, used for pricing international oils, rose $1.35 to $84.21 per barrel.