World Shares Mixed After Wall St. Soars12/04 04:51

   World shares were mixed on Thursday, after U.S. stocks rose to near their 
records as investors focused on hopes the Federal Reserve will cut interest 
rates at its meeting next week.

   MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- World shares were mixed on Thursday, after U.S. 
stocks rose to near their records as investors focused on hopes the Federal 
Reserve will cut interest rates at its meeting next week.

   The future for the S&P 500 was nearly unchanged but that for the Dow Jones 
Industrial Average was slightly higher.

   In early European trading, Germany's DAX rose 0.7% to 23,863.46. Britain's 
FTSE 100 was down 0.1% 9,684.71, while France's CAC-40 added 0.3% to 8,110.58.

   Japan's Nikkei 225 index climbed 2.3% to 51,028.42, nearing its all-time 
high, on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut its main interest 
rate next week, even while traders speculate over whether the Bank of Japan 
will raise interest rates this month.

   Technology and telecoms giant SoftBank Group Corp.'s shares jumped 9.2% 
after the company's founder reaffirmed the company's strategic shift to focus 
on OpenAI and other investments in artificial intelligence. SoftBank's shares 
are still down nearly 28% from a month ago, when it announced it had sold its 
stake in chip maker Nvidia for $5.8 billion to be able to invest more in AI.

   The Japanese government's 10-year bond yield rose above 1.9%, it's highest 
since 2007.

   Hong Kong's Hang Seng index reversed early trading losses, adding 0.7% to 
25,935.90, led by gains for tech and consumer stocks. The Shanghai Composite 
index shed 0.1% to 3,875.79.

   South Korea's Kospi fell 0.2% to 4,028.51, with weakness in tech and 
automotive stocks weighing on the benchmark.

   Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index recovered from a slump earlier in the day, 
adding 0.3% to 8,618.40.

   Taiwan's Taiex index and India's BSE Sensex were nearly unchanged.

   On Wednesday, U.S. stocks rose to near their record levels as mixed data on 
the economy kept alive hopes for a cut to interest rates.

   The S&P 500 gained 0.3% and pulled within 0.6% of its all-time high set in 
late October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.9% and the Nasdaq 
composite added 0.2%.

   Stocks broadly got a lift from easing Treasury yields in the bond market. 
Yields fell after a report suggested U.S. employers outside of the government 
may have cut more jobs in November than they added.

   While the surprisingly weak report from ADP may be discouraging for people 
looking for jobs, it also bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve will 
cut its main interest rate next week. If the Fed does, that would be the third 
cut of the year in hopes of helping the slowing job market.

   A separate report Wednesday on activity for the U.S. services sector was 
more encouraging. It said growth was stronger last month than expected for 
businesses in the retail, finance, insurance and other industries.

   The Institute for Supply Management's survey also said that prices were 
increasing at their slowest rate since April. That's important because the main 
argument against cutting interest rates is that it could worsen inflation.

   In other dealings early Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil added 20 cents to 
$59.15 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 12 cents to 
$62.79 per barrel.

   The U.S. dollar fell to 154.88 Japanese yen from 155.25 yen. The euro edged 
up to $1.1678 from $1.1672.