Global stocks follow Wall St higher with China closed

By JOE McDONALD
AP Business Writer

BEIJING (AP) — Global stocks are higher while China is closed for the Lunar New Year. London and Frankfurt opened higher. Tokyo, Sydney and India gained. Oil prices rose. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index gained 0.7%, boosted by gains for energy and tech stocks in a late burst of buying. U.S. stocks are coming off their worst month since early in the pandemic nearly two years ago. Investors are trying to figure out how the economy and corporate profits will be affected by upcoming Federal Reserve rate hikes, intended to cool inflation that has surged to a four-decade high.