Stock market today: Global shares trade mixed as European benchmarks decline

[January 07, 2025]  By YURI KAGEYAMA

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares were trading mixed Tuesday, as European benchmarks declined while Asia derived some optimism from rising technology stocks on Wall Street.

France's CAC 40 fell 0.3% in early trading to 7,427.40, while Germany's DAX declined 0.1% to 20,186.45. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.5% to 8,212.10.

U.S. shares were set to drift lower, with Dow futures down less than 0.1% to 42,950.00. S&P 500 futures shed nearly 0.1% to 6,016.25.

In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped nearly 2.0% to finish at 40,083.30. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.3% to 8,285.10. South Korea's Kospi added 0.1% to 2,492.10.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slid 1.2% to 19,447.58 as shares in technology and games company Tencent plunged 7.3% after it was hit by U.S. sanctions.

The Shanghai Composite edged 0.7% higher to 3,229.64.

Nippon Steel, whose attempt to take over U.S. Steel is being blocked by the Biden administration, slid 1.5% in Tokyo trading, even as its chief executive vowed to keep pushing the deal.

U.S. Steel climbed 8.1% overnight after it and Japan’s Nippon Steel filed a federal lawsuit challenging President Joe Biden’s decision to block a proposed nearly $15 billion deal for Nippon to buy its Pittsburgh-based rival.

The suit, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, alleges it was a political decision. Japanese leaders have also said there is scant evidence the merger poses a security concern for the U.S.

Investors are also watching for possible policy changes under incoming President Donald Trump, whose term is beginning soon, said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

"The convergence of these financial indicators points to a heightened alert among traders, who carefully calibrate their strategies for potential shifts in policy and economic directives that the new administration may bring," he said.

A currency trader works near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Nvidia and other AI stocks have kept climbing recently, despite concern that their stock prices have already shot too high, too fast.

The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq will close their stock and options markets on Thursday in observance of a National Day of Mourning for former President Jimmy Carter.

But in a potentially market-moving event later in the week, the Federal Reserve will release minutes from its last policy meeting, where it cut its main interest rate for a third straight time.

The monthly jobs report, along with an update on how U.S. consumers are feeling, are set for Friday. So far, the economy has remained remarkably resilient. The Fed began cutting interest rates in September after inflation pulled nearly all the way down to its 2% target.

Getting the last percentage point of improvement from inflation may prove more difficult. Worries are also rising that tariffs and other policies coming from President-elect Donald Trump could push inflation higher.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude declined 23 cents to $73.33 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 20 cents to $76.10 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 157.44 Japanese yen from 157.65 yen. The euro cost $1.0407, up from $1.0391.

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