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Japan's Nikkei, Taiwanese shares hit record highs

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Investors hope for good U.S. CPI figures after benign PPI

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Fed rate cut next week fully priced in, small chance of 50

bps

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Oil trims gains, gold slips from all-time highs

(Updates prices as of 0610 GMT before European open)

By Stella Qiu

SYDNEY, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Sharemarkets in Japan,

Taiwan and South Korea set records on Thursday, boosted by

technology stocks, while investors wagered U.S. inflation data

would be benign enough to ensure a rate cut next week and

perhaps two more by year-end.

European stocks, however, braced for a more subdued open,

with EUROSTOXX 50 futures little changed ahead of a

rate decision from the European Central Bank. The ECB is widely

expected to hold rates steady but the focus is on whether it

will keep the door ajar for further policy easing.

Meanwhile, oil prices trimmed overnight gains after Poland

downed suspected Russian drones in its airspace and as the U.S.

pushed the EU to impose new sanctions on buyers of Russian oil.

Gold also slipped further away from all-time highs.

Michael Brown, a senior research strategist at Pepperstone,

said for stocks, the path of least resistance is clearly higher.

"The list of bullish catalysts is still piling up - solid

economic growth, strong earnings growth & guidance, corporate

buybacks gathering pace, calmer tones prevailing on trade and

optimism around the AI theme having returned with a vengeance,"

Brown said.

Japan's Nikkei gained 1.2% to hit a record as tech,

energy and utilities firms jumped. South Korean shares

rose 0.6%, while the rally in Taiwan faded somewhat, with stocks

last flat for the day.

SoftBank rose almost 10% after Stargate Project

partner Oracle soared 36% overnight in its biggest

one-day percentage gain since 1992 as the 48-year-old tech giant

forecast a demand surge from AI firms for its cloud computing

services.

Chinese blue chips jumped 1.8%, while Hong Kong's

Hang Seng index trimmed earlier losses to be off 0.3%. Both

Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 futures were little

changed.

Overnight, a benign reading on U.S. producer prices led

markets to price in more chance of three interest rate cuts from

the Federal Reserve this year. Investors have fully priced in a

quarter-point move from the Fed at next week's meeting, with an

8% chance of a 50 basis-point cut.

With PPI out of the way, investors are now focused on the

consumer price index for August due out later in the day. A

Reuters poll showed the headline CPI likely rose 2.9% from a

year earlier, the biggest increase since January, while the core

measure likely held at 3.1%.

"Unless CPI delivers a significant upside shock, investors

are likely to maintain their dovish outlook," said Julien

Lafargue, chief market strategist at Barclays Private Bank.

"This shift in inflation dynamics could prove pivotal for

the U.S. Fed, which now faces fewer constraints in pursuing a

more aggressive rate-cutting cycle. With inflation appearing

less of a threat, the Fed may find room to stimulate the economy

more assertively."

In foreign exchange, movement was muted with the U.S. dollar

struggling for direction. The dollar index was last flat at

97.84, a touch above a seven-week trough of 97.25.

The Australian dollar hit a 10-month top of $0.6636

overnight before steadying at $0.6607 on Thursday.

In the bond market, 10-year Treasury yields

edged up 2 basis points to 4.0531%, having fallen 4 bps

overnight as a solid 10-year note auction alleviated some

concern about investor appetite for long-term U.S. debt.

An even more telling gauge will be the Treasury's $22

billion sale of 30-year bonds on Thursday. The 30-year yield

rose 2 bps to 4.7028%, having come down more than 30

basis points since it briefly topped 5% a week ago.

In commodity markets, oil prices slipped on Thursday, having

settled up over $1 overnight. U.S. crude eased 0.3% to

$63.45 a barrel, while Brent was also down 0.3% at

$67.26.

Spot gold prices slipped 0.3% to $3,630 an ounce.