World shares are mixed and Tokyo hits a record, tracking fresh highs on
Wall Street
[January 13, 2026] By
CHAN HO-HIM
HONG KONG (AP) — World shares were mixed and U.S. futures edged lower
Tuesday ahead of an update on U.S. consumer prices.
In early European trading, the FTSE 100 in London edged up less than 1%
to 10,144.50. Germany’s DAX fell 0.2% to 25,356.32, while the CAC 40 in
Paris dropped 0.5% to 8,316.63.
The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average
declined 0.2%.
Later Tuesday, the U.S. Labor Department was due to report consumer
inflation in December. It is expected to say consumer prices rose 2.6%
in December compared with a year earlier, according to economists’
estimates compiled by data provider FactSet.
Inflation likely remained elevated last month as the cost of
electricity, groceries, and clothing may have jumped and continued to
pressure consumers’ wallets.
Asian shares mostly gained led by a rally in Japan. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225
surged 3.1% to 53,549.16 at close, a record. Technology-related stocks
helped lift the benchmark. Compute chip testing equipment maker
Advantest surged 8.5%. Chip maker Tokyo Electron jumped 8.2% and
SoftBank Group rose 4.3%.
The dollar rose to 158.92 yen, up from 158.07 yen. The dollar has been
trading near its highest level against in the yen in more than a year on
what market watchers call the “Takaichi trade” for Prime Minister Sanae
Takaichi, who took office in October.
Takaichi is expected to try to capitalize on her relatively high public
ratings to call a snap election, hoping to strengthen her mandate for
higher government spending. That has led to a weakening in the yen.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.9% to 26,848.47. Shares of China-based
chip designer GigaDevice Semiconductor jumped as much as 54% in the
company’s Hong Kong trading debut. The Shanghai Composite index fell
0.6% to 4,138.76.
South Korea’s Kospi closed 1.5% higher at 4,692.64 at close, also a
record.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained nearly 0.6% to 8,808.50. Taiwan’s
Taiex rose 0.5%, while the Sensex in India lost almost 0.3%.
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A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's
Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Tokyo.
(Kyodo News via AP)
 On Monday, concern over the
potential consequences of a weakening of the Federal Reserve's
independence in setting interest rates appeared to be offset by
investors' expectations that President Donald Trump may prevail in
pushing the central bank to cut rates at a faster pace. Lower
interest rates mean cheap credit and tend to fuel stronger stock
prices.
Tensions between Trump and Fed Chair Jerome Powell escalated after
the Department of Justice subpoenaed the Fed and threatened a
criminal indictment over Powell's testimony regarding building
renovations at the central bank's headquarters.
The S&P 500 gained almost 0.2% Monday to 6,977.27, a new record. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average also edged up 0.2%, to 49,590.20, for
its own record. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.3% to 23,733.90.
Trump has repeatedly called for the Fed to further lower interest
rates and reduce borrowing costs for households and companies, even
as the Fed did cut rates three times in 2025. The White House said
Monday that Trump did not direct his Justice Department to
investigate Powell.
Alphabet, Google’s parent, gained 1% on Monday, taking its market
value to more than $4 trillion, after Apple said it would use
Google’s Gemini to help smarten up virtual assistant Siri in a new
deal.
Credit card companies led losses after Trump said he wanted a
one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, which could eat
into the profits of these companies. Synchrony Financial dipped
8.4%, Capital One Financial fell 6.4% and American Express edged
down 4.3%.
In other dealings early Tuesday, the price of gold dipped 0.5% and
the price of silver picked up 0.4%.
The euro edged up $1.1669 from $1.1667.
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