LONDON – Global equity markets held steady ​and oil prices inched higher after new attacks on shipping in the Middle East dimmed expectations for an end to the Iran ‌conflict, as markets turned their attention to US inflation data later in the day.

US crude rose 0.8 percent to $83.89 a ⁠barrel and Brent rose 0.7 percent to $89.49 per barrel, poised for a sixth straight daily gain. Both benchmarks settled more than $1 higher on Tuesday, marking their ​highest closes since July 31 and extending gains after jumping about 5 percent on Monday.

"Our base case for a long time has been a gradual but messy ​de-escalation," said Dorian Carrell, head of multi-asset income at Schroders.

"We don't expect traffic (through the Strait of Hormuz) to go to its full capacity. We think that puts a floor on the oil price and maintains an energy-driven inflationary driver in markets in the near- to medium-term."

In early European trade, the pan-region STOXX 600 was little changed. Major stock indexes ​in Frankfurt, Paris and London were hovering close to the unchanged mark.

In Asia, stocks rose 0.7 percent, led by a 3.7 percent gain in South Korea's Kospi ​and an almost 1 percent rise in Japan stocks as chipmakers rose sharply.

US stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis , were up 0.1 percent, while Nasdaq futures rose 0.4 percent, as upbeat results from ‌AI cloud ⁠company CoreWeave after the market gave the AI trade another boost.

Eyes on cpi

Markets remained focused on US consumer prices data later in the session for signals of timing for a potential Federal Reserve rate hike.

Wednesday's CPI data will not capture the most recent rise in energy costs, but it could still prove instrumental in setting expectations for the Fed's meeting next month, with money markets showing an even chance of a hike .

Consumer prices are expected to edge up 0.1 percent in July after ​falling 0.4 percent in June, according to ​a Reuters poll. Annual CPI inflation ⁠is forecast to slow to 3.4 percent from 3.5 percent a month earlier.

"The CPI projection is expected to come in reasonably soft today which would tee up a hold before the midterms, all else being equal," said Schroders' Carrell.

Fed Bank ​of Boston President Susan Collins said she would back a September interest rate rise if inflation remains high, the ​Financial Times reported.

Markets are increasingly ⁠pricing in an early rate hike in Japan, putting pressure on the nation's shorter-dated bonds. The yield on the five-year Japanese government bond rose to 2.12 percent, a record high, while the two-year yield reached a 31-year peak of 1.645 percent.

Investors now price an almost 60 percent chance of a quarter-point hike at the Bank of Japan's September ⁠meeting.

The yen ​weakened slightly to 159.35 per dollar, remaining off last week's high of 155.20 after several suspected ​rounds of intervention.

The dollar index, which measures the currency against a basket of currencies, rose less than 0.1 percent to 99.86. The euro and sterling were little changed.

Spot gold rose 1 percent to $4,409 an ​ounce, while spot silver rose 2 percent to $66.04 an ounce.