World stocks are mixed and oil prices slip after Treasury yields ease
[May 23, 2025] By
JIANG JUNZHE
HONG KONG (AP) — World shares were mixed on Friday as U.S. Treasury
yields eased after a rocky week due to worries in the bond market over
mounting U.S. government debt.
The yield of the 10-year Treasury shed 0.8% to 4.52% while the two-year
yield, which more closely tracks expectations for action by the Federal
Reserve, slipped 0.3% to 3.99%.
Oil prices dropped on expectations that the OPEC+ group of oil exporters
may decide on another increase in output at their next meeting.
U.S. benchmark crude oil fell 21 cents to $60.99 per barrel while Brent
crude, the international standard, gave up 22 cents to $64.23 per
barrel.
In share trading, Germany's DAX gained 0.1% to 24,019.22, while the CAC
40 in Paris slipped 0.5% to 7,825.09. The FTSE 100 added 0.1% to
8,743.69.
The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged
slightly lower.
In other share trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 0.5% to 37,160.47
after the government reported a core inflation rate of 3.5% in April,
the highest since early 2023. Core inflation excludes volatile food and
energy prices.
The surge in prices has increased the likelihood that the Bank of Japan
might raise its benchmark interest rate at its next policy meeting,
analysts said.
But uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff hikes will
limit what the BOJ can do, given recent signs of weakness in the
economy, Min Joo Kang of ING Economics said in a report.
He added that “with US tariffs likely to impact manufacturing and
exports negatively throughout this year, the BOJ’s policy changes are
likely to be gradual.”
Hong Kong's Hang Seng picked up 0.2% to 23,601.26, while the Shanghai
Composite Index lost 0.9% to 3,348.37.
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Workers clean the glass window of a building in front of an
electronic stock board showing Japan's TOPIX index at a securities
firm Friday, May 23, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
 Seoul's Kospi retreated 0.1% to
2,592.09 and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia gained 0.2% to 8,360.90.
On Thursday, stocks drifted to a mixed close on Wall Street.
The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial
Average fell 1.35 points. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%.
The majority of stocks within the S&P 500 lost ground, but gains for
technology companies with outsized values offset those losses.
Google’s parent Alphabet jumped 1.4% and Nvidia rose 0.8%.
Treasury yields held a bit steadier after the House of
Representatives approved a bill that would cut taxes and could add
trillions of dollars to the U.S. debt.
The House’s multitrillion-dollar spending bill, which aims to extend
some $4.5 trillion in tax breaks from Trump’s first term while
adding others, is expected to be amended when it gets to the Senate
for a vote.
The legislation includes a speedier rollback of production tax
credits for clean electricity projects, which sent shares of solar
companies tumbling. Sunrun dropped 37.1%, Enphase Energy fell 19.6%
and First Solar slid 4.3%.
In economic updates, the number of Americans filing unemployment
claims last week fell slightly. The broader employment market has
remained strong, though businesses remain worried about the economic
uncertainty amid a trade war.
In other dealings early Friday, the U.S. dollar slipped to 143.21
Japanese yen from 144.01 yen. The euro rose to $1.1348 from $1.1279.
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