European shares decline and US futures gain after Wall Street steadies
[January 16, 2026] By
ELAINE KURTENBACH
BANGKOK (AP) — Shares slipped in Europe after a mixed session Friday in
Asia, while U.S. futures edged higher.
Oil prices rebounded after dropping sharply on Thursday.
Germany's DAX edged 0.1% lower to 25,323.98, while the CAC 40 in Paris
gave up 0.4% to 8,277.40. Britain's FTSE 100 inched up 0.1% to
10,250.97.
The future for the S&P 500 added 0.3% while that for the Dow Jones
Industrial Average was up 0.1%.
Gains in Asia were led by Taiwan, where the benchmark rose nearly 2%
after its government signed a trade deal with the U.S. China, which
claims the self-governed island as its own territory, protested the
agreement.
The agreement cuts tariffs on Taiwanese goods to 15% in exchange for
$250 billion in new investments in the U.S. tech industry.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 shed 0.3% to 53,936.17, while Hong Kong's Hang
Seng gave up 0.3% to 26,844.96. The Shanghai Composite index lost 0.3%
to 4,101.91.
China is due to report its economic growth data for 2025 on Monday.
Forecasts are for the economy to have expanded at about a 4.5% annual
pace, slowing from earlier in the year.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi rose 0.9% to a record 4,840.74.
The benchmark has been trading at record highs for weeks, helped by a
recovery in confidence in AI-related shares. Samsung Electronics gained
3.5%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5% to 8,903.90. India's Sensex
rose 0.2%.
Wall Street steadied on Thursday as stocks related to
artificial-intelligence bounced back.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6%.
The Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%.
Easing oil prices also helped to calm investors' jitters.
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Trader Michael Capolino works on the floor of the New York Stock
Exchange, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
 Early Friday, a barrel of benchmark
U.S. crude cost $59.61, up 53 cents from a day earlier. It sank 4.6%
on Thursday after Trump said he had heard “on good authority” that
plans for executions in Iran had stopped amid widespread protests
against the country’s leadership.
Brent crude, the international standard, added 60 cents to $64.36
per barrel. It dropped 4.1% on Thursday.
Financial markets took Trump's comments about Iran as a signal that
tensions flaring above some of the world’s largest oil deposits
could ease, which in turn could lower the possibility of disruptions
to oil supplies.
Earnings reporting season for big U.S. companies are picking up
pace, meanwhile, with several more big financial companies
delivering their results for the last three months of 2025.
“As we dive into the heart of earnings season in the coming weeks,
tech results will be scrutinized in far greater detail.,” Ipek
Ozkardeskaya of Swissquote said in a commentary.
“Concerns around circular AI deals, leverage and delayed returns on
investment remain front of mind for investors. These are compounded
by rising electricity and metals costs, higher memory-chip prices,
and the risk of supply disruptions,” she said.
In other dealings early Friday, the U.S. dollar fell to 158.19
Japanese yen from 158.63 yen.
The euro rose to $1.1614 from $1.1609.
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