World shares mostly rise and US futures are flat after modest Wall
Street moves
[January 09, 2026] By
CHAN HO-HIM
HONG KONG (AP) — World shares mostly gained on Friday ahead of the U.S.
Labor Department's release of its latest jobs update.
Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.4% to 10,085.47 in early trading, while the
CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.5% to 8,287.19. Germany’s DAX edged less than
0.1% higher, to 25,132.43.
The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were
little changed.
In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.6% to 51,939.89. Shares of
Fast Retailing, the fashion company behind Uniqlo, jumped more than
10.6% after its quarterly operating profit surged about 34%
year-on-year. It revised its full-year forecasts upward.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.3% to 26,231.79, and the Shanghai
Composite index rose 0.9% to 4,120.43, after official data showed
China’s inflation rate picked up in December, rising at its fastest pace
in almost three years. That suggests an improvement in demand, which
tends to push prices higher.
The Chinese artificial intelligence startup MiniMax, whose shares
debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Friday, surged 109%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell less than 0.1% to 8,717.80. Shares of
Rio Tinto fell more than 6.2%, after the mining group confirmed that it
is in preliminary merger talks with Glencore in a deal that could create
the biggest mining company in the world.
South Korea’s Kospi added 0.8% to 4,586.32.
Taiwan’s Taiex fell 0.2%, and India’s Sensex lost 0.7%.
Investors are watching for the Labor Department’s Friday release of its
monthly job report for December, which could give a more comprehensive
look at the U.S. job market. The Supreme Court is also expected to issue
a possible ruling on Trump’s far-reaching “Liberation Day” tariffs on
Friday, which could lift market sentiment.
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A dealer walks past near the screens showing the foreign exchange
rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea,
Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
 On Thursday, defense-industry
companies advanced on Wall Street, after President Donald Trump said
he wants to hike U.S. military spending to $1.5 trillion in 2027.
L3Harris Technologies climbed 5.2%, Lockheed Martin rose 4.3% and
Northrop Grumman edged up 2.4%.
Other moves for Wall Street were more modest, after optimism for the
start of the year faded slightly on Wednesday. The S&P 500 added
less than 0.1% and the Dow climbed nearly 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite
fell 0.4%.
U.S. data released Thursday showed that filings for unemployment
benefits rose slightly in the last week of 2025, and had remained
historically low and in line with economists’ expectations. But
workers productivity picked up in the July-September quarter.
In other dealings early Friday, oil prices gained after a volatile
week following Trump’s ouster of the leader of Venezuela. Benchmark
U.S. crude rose 4 cents to $57.80 per barrel. Brent crude, the
international standard, gained 8 cents to $62.07.
Supply worries persist. Venezuela has some of the largest oil
reserves in the world and the U.S. has sought to assert control over
its oil resources. It seized two more oil tankers this week,
including one that sailed under a Russia flag that the U.S. said had
evaded a blockade on sanctioned oil vessels around Venezuela.
The U.S. dollar rose to 157.72 Japanese yen, up from 156.80 yen.
The euro slipped to $1.1643 from $1.1661.
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