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Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4

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Nikkei futures near record as Japan holidays

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Dollar, bonds await US CPI report to refine rate cut

chances

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Oil slips ahead of Trump/Putin meeting on Ukraine

(Updates prices to Asia afternoon)

By Wayne Cole

SYDNEY, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Major share indexes crept

higher in Asia on Monday as upbeat company earnings underpinned

high valuations in the tech sector, while a crucial report on

U.S. inflation would likely set the course of the dollar and

bonds.

While Japan's stock market was closed for a holiday,

futures pushed up to 42,380 and suggested the cash index

will test its all-time high of 42,426 this week.

EUROSTOXX 50 futures added 0.2%, while FTSE futures

rose 0.1% and DAX futures firmed 0.2%.

Trade and geopolitics loom large with a U.S. tariff deadline

on China due to expire on Tuesday amid expectations it will get

extended again, while President Donald Trump and Russian leader

Vladimir Putin are due to meet in Alaska on Friday to discuss

Ukraine.

The main economic release will be U.S. consumer prices on

Tuesday, with analysts expecting the impact of tariffs to help

nudge the core up 0.3% to an annual pace of 3.0% and away from

the Federal Reserve target of 2%.

An upside surprise would challenge market wagers for a

September rate cut, though analysts assume it would have to be a

very high number given a downward turn in payrolls is now

dominating the outlook.

"The tone from the Fed has shifted as a number of officials

expressed concerns about growth following the July employment

report," said Bruce Kasman, chief economist at JPMorgan.

"We now expect the Fed to restart its easing cycle in

September," he added. "Recession risks are elevated at 40%, but

we do not yet see a case for a larger than 25bp series of cuts."

Markets imply around a 90% probability of a September

easing, and at least one more cut by year end.

Trump's pick for Fed governor, Stephen Miran, may or may not

be in place in time to vote for a cut in September, while the

choice of a new chair has broadened out to around 10 contenders.

The prospect of lower borrowing costs has supported

equities, along with a run of strong earnings.

Analysts at BofA note 73% of companies had beaten on

earnings, well above the 59% long run average, while 78% beat on

revenue.

"While mentions of 'weak demand' ticked up and tariff

concerns remain, corporate sentiment and guidance are

improving," they said in a note.

S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures both edged

up 0.1% on Monday to near record highs.

Analysts were unsure what to make of a report in the

Financial Times that tech majors Nvidia ( NVDA ) and AMD

have agreed to give the U.S. government 15% of their revenues

from chip sales in China, under an arrangement to obtain export

licenses for the semiconductors.

CHINA EXPORTS DEFLATION

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan

gained 0.3%, while South Korea was flat

having bounced 2.9% last week.

Chinese blue chips added 0.5% after data showed

consumer price inflation ticked up in July, but producer prices

kept falling as the country's massive manufacturing sector

exported deflation to the rest of the world.

Figures on industrial output and retail sales for July are

due on Friday, and forecasts are for a slight slowdown after a

jump the previous month.

Currencies were quiet with markets thinned by Japan's

absence, with the dollar index a fraction lower at 98.066

after slipping 0.4% last week.

The euro added 0.2% to $1.1670 and further away

from a recent trough of $1.1392, while the dollar dipped to

147.50 yen having met resistance around 147.90.

The Australian dollar eased to $0.6520 ahead of a

meeting of the Reserve Bank of Australia which is widely

expected to sanction a rate cut, having stunned markets in July

by skipping an easing to await more inflation data.

The figures turned out benign, so investors have again fully

priced a quarter-point cut to 3.60%.

In commodity markets, gold fell 0.6% to $3,378 an ounce

after wild swings last week on reports the U.S. would

slap 39% tariffs on some gold bars, which are major exports of

Switzerland.

Gold futures pared gains on Friday when the White House said

it planned to issue an executive order clarifying the country's

stance on gold bar tariffs.

Oil prices slipped amid risks the talks between Trump and

Putin could make progress to a ceasefire in Ukraine and possibly

an eventual easing of sanctions on Russian oil exports.

Brent dropped 0.6% to $66.22 a barrel, while U.S.

crude eased 0.7% to $63.44 per barrel.