World stocks waver as China inflation disappoints BANGKOK (AP) - World stock markets wavered Thursday amid inflation data in China that failed to meet expectations and fears of a possible recession in Europe. Benchmark oil rose above $101 per barrel while the dollar fell against the euro but rose against the yen. Stocks failed to find firm direction early in Europe. Britain's FTSE 100 fell marginally to 5,668.61 while Germany's DAX rose 0.2 percent to 6,167.10 and France's CAC-40 gained 0.4 percent to 3,218.37. Wall Street braced for a lower opening, with both Dow Jones industrial futures and the broader S&P 500 futures down less than 0.1 percent to 12,381 and 1,287.30 respectively. Equity markets in Asia lost ground earlier in the day. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.7 percent to close at 8,385.59, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng drifted 0.3 percent lower to 19,095.38. Australia's S&P ASX 200 fell 0.2 percent to 4,181. Mainland Chinese shares also fell, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down marginally to 2,275.01 and the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index shedding 0.4 percent to 876.81. Shares were hurt by data released Thursday that showed China's inflation eased only slightly in December to 4.1 percent, from November's 4.2 percent. Analysts had hoped to see more improvement. The decline in Chinese inflation "is less than expectations, so the market is a little disappointed that it did not fall below 4 percent," said Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong. The December rise in Chinese food costs was driven by a 21.3 percent jump in the price of pork, the country's staple meat, and a 6.9 percent jump in grain prices. Analysts blame the price surge on strong consumer demand and the flood of money from Beijing's multibillion-dollar stimulus that helped China rebound quickly from the 2008 global economic crisis. In Japan, Toyota Motor Corp. fell down 1.2 percent and Nissan Motor Corp. lost 1.5 percent. Electronics giant Sharp Corp. dropped 3.1 percent. Panasonic Corp. gave up 2.5 percent. Shares of Indian outsourcing giant Infosys fell 7.6 percent, after the company said the global economic slowdown and chaos in Europe would hurt growth. In energy trading, benchmark crude for February deliver rose 68 cents to $101.56 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The euro rose to $1.2718 from $1.2697 late Wednesday in New York. The dollar rose to 76.95 yen from 76.87 yen.