World shares are mixed ahead of an update on US employment
[February 11, 2026] By
ELAINE KURTENBACH
BANGKOK (AP) — World shares were mixed in cautious trading Wednesday
ahead of an update on U.S. employment that is expected to highlight a
sluggish jobs market.
Prices of gold, silver and oil advanced. Bitcoin was lower.
Germany's DAX lost 0.5% to 24,872.61 and the CAC 40 in Paris also shed
0.5%, to 8,281.72. Britain's FTSE 100 edged 0.2% higher.
The future for the S&P 500 was up less than 0.1% while that for the Dow
Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2%.
Markets in Japan were closed for a holiday.
Chinese markets crept higher, with the Hang Seng in Hong Kong up 0.3% at
27,266.38. The Shanghai Composite index added 0.1% to 4,131.98.
In South Korea, the Kospi extended its gains, rising 1% to 5,354.49.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.7% to 9,014.80, while Taiwan's Taiex
jumped 1.6%.
India's Sensex edged 0.1% lower.
On Tuesday, stocks drifted on Wall Street following a mixed set of
profit reports from big U.S. companies. Hopes rose that the Federal
Reserve will cut interest rates later this year to boost the economy
following a discouraging report on U.S. shoppers' appetite for spending.
“Fresh data points to softening U.S. consumer momentum since last
December as wage growth cools and household credit stress builds,”
Mizuho Bank said in a commentary. It noted that demand weakened in eight
of 13 categories, including clothing and furniture.
The S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 6,941.81 after briefly rising above its
all-time high set a couple weeks ago. The Dow added 0.1%, to its own
record, closing at 50,188.14.
The Nasdaq composite fell 0.6% to 23,102.47.
The report showing that U.S. retailers made less money at the end of
last year than economists expected could signal slowing spending by U.S.
households, the main engine of the economy.
Apart from Wednesday's jobs figures, a report Friday will show how bad
inflation is for U.S. consumers.
Altogether, the data should help the Federal Reserve decide what to do
with interest rates. The Fed has put its cuts to interest rates on hold,
and too-hot inflation could keep it on pause for a long time. But a
weakening of the job market could push it to resume cuts more quickly.
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A screen above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock
Exchange displays the closing number for the Dow Jones industrial
average, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, as it closed above the 50,000 level
for the first time. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
 “Expectations are weak. The U.S.
economy is expected to have added around 66,000 nonfarm jobs in
January, with wage growth slowing to 3.6% year-on-year. The
unemployment rate is seen steady near 4.4%,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya of
Swissquote said in a report.
“If we dig deeper, however, unemployment among workers aged 16–24
stood above 10% in December. The struggle is real,” she said.
Coca-Cola fell 1.5% after its revenue for the latest quarter fell
short of analysts’ expectations. It also gave a forecast for an
important underlying measure of growth this year that was less than
some analysts expected.
S&P Global dropped 9.7% after giving a forecast for profit in the
upcoming year that fell short of analysts’ expectations. The company
famous for its stock indexes has been struggling recently with
worries that competitors powered by artificial-intelligence
technology may steal customers for its data services. Its stock came
into the day with a loss of 15% for the year so far.
Outside of earnings reports, Warner Bros. Discovery climbed 2.2%
after Paramount said it upped its offer to buy the entertainment
company of $30 per share by 25 cents per share for each quarter that
its buyout has not closed past the end of this year. Paramount also
said it would pay $2.8 billion to help Warner Bros. Discovery get
out of its buyout deal with Netflix.
Paramount Skydance’s stock added 1.5%, while Netflix rose 0.9%.
In other dealings early Wednesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained
87 cents to $64.83 per barrel. Brent crude, the international
standard, climbed 85 cents at $69.65 per barrel.
The dollar slipped to 153.27 Japanese yen from 154.38 yen, while the
euro rose to $1.1919 from $1.1895.
The price of gold rose 1.2% while that for silver was up 5.1%.
Bitcoin lost 3.3% to just below $67,000.
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