China Inflation Rises; Global Stocks Mixed

Updated from 5:57 a.m. EST

BEIJING (TheStreet) -- Inflation in China rose in February, making for tentative trading Thursday as investors wondered whether the Chinese government might take further action to stem the economy from overheating.

Shanghai's Composite Index ended with a gain of 2.36 points, or 0.1%, to 3,051.28, after being in the red earlier in the session.

Inflation in China rose 2.7% in February, a 16-month high, up from an increase of 1.5% in January, China's National Bureau of Statistics said. The rise in inflation exceeded the estimates of most analysts, the Associated Press reports.

Analysts said investors concluded the February inflation wasn't high enough to trigger a rate hike in China, the Associated Press reports.

"The fading fear of interest rates hike slightly outweighed market concerns over more credit-tightening policies, and that gave blue chips a push," Lin Feng, an investment manager for Sinolink Securities, told the AP.

The Chinese government is balancing efforts to boost growth while preventing overheating, all without raising interest rates. In recent months, banking regulators have clamped down on banks ordering them to hold more reserves.

In other markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average ended with a gain of 88.91 points, or 0.9%, to 10,653.70. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.1%.

European shares were trading lower.

-- Reported by Joseph Woelfel in New York.

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