World shares are mostly lower ahead of a US inflation update
[August 29, 2025] By
TERESA CEROJANO
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — European shares were trading lower on Friday
following a mixed session in Asia as investors awaited a key U.S.
inflation report.
Economists expect the U.S. personal consumption expenditures index, due
later in the day, to show inflation remained at about 2.6% in July.
The futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were down
0.3%. Oil prices were also lower.
In early European trading, Germany's DAX shed 0.6% to 23,901.77 as the
latest figures showed unemployment remained at 6.3% in July, for a sixth
straight month. Adjusted for seasonal factors, it topped 3 million for
the first time in a decade.
Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.3% to 9,191.08 while the CAC 40 in Paris fell
0.7% to 7,712.11.
During Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% to 42,718.47 after a
slew of data released Friday showed Japan’s factory output slumped in
July as higher tariffs hit on exports to the United States. Inflation in
Tokyo also slowed to 2.6% year-on-year, while the jobless rate fell to
2.3% in July from 2.5% in June.
“Today’s Japanese data was mixed, with disappointing industrial
production threatening third-quarter growth, while a tight labor market
points to increased wages and underlying inflation remaining firm,” ING
Economics said in a commentary. “We still think October is the most
likely timing for a Bank of Japan rate hike.”
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.3% to 25,077.62, while the Shanghai
Composite index added 0.4% to 3,857.93. Shares in computer chipmaker
Cambricon Technologies shed 6% after soaring 15.7% on Thursday, closing
at 1,492.49 yuan (about $209) a share. But it remained the priciest
stock on Shanghai's exchange after displacing Kweichou Moutai, whose
shares gained 2.3% to 1,480 yuan ($207.50).
Chinese computer chipmakers have seen their share prices surge as the
government provides heavy support to encourage wider manufacturing and
use of chips made in China.
“Hyper-growth in China’s tech landscape is starting to feel like a
zero-sum cage fight rather than a clean runway. Even Cambricon’s AI chip
story, this week’s darling, is now flashing red lights, warning of
trading risks after an 8% skid,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management
said in a commentary.
South Korea's KOSPI shed 0.3% to 3,186.01, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200
edged 0.1% lower to 8,973.10.
Taiwan's TAIEX shed earlier gains and was down less than 0.1%, while
India's BSE Sensex slipped 0.1%.
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A dealer walks near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates
at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Aug.
28, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
 On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.3%,
lifting the benchmark index to its second record high in a row. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average reversed an early slide and gained
0.2%, enough to move past its record high set last Friday.
The Nasdaq composite closed 0.5% higher, finishing just short of its
all-time high set two weeks ago.
Gains in the technology and communication services sectors offset
losses elsewhere in the market.
Tech giant Nvidia fell 0.8% a day after reporting quarterly earnings
and revenue that beat Wall Street analysts’ forecasts, though the
company noted that sales of its artificial intelligence chipsets
rose at a slower pace than analysts anticipated.
Traders also had their eye on new government reports on the job
market and economy.
The Labor Department reported that applications for unemployment
benefits fell last week, the latest sign that employers are holding
onto their workers even as the economy has slowed.
The most recent government data suggests hiring has slowed sharply
since this spring.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department reported that U.S. gross domestic
product —- the nation’s output of goods and services — grew at a
3.3% annual pace in the April-June quarter after shrinking 0.5% in
the first three months of this year due to the fallout from the
Trump administration’s trade wars.
Still, the sluggishness in the job market is a key reason that
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled last week that the
central bank may cut its key interest rate at its meeting next
month.
In other dealings on Friday, U.S. benchmark crude lost 42 cents to
$64.18 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, slid 41
cents to $67.57 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 147.00 Japanese yen from 146.95 yen. The
euro fell to $1.1675 from $1.1684.
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