World shares mostly up as US stocks inch to more records

Manila: World shares were mostly higher Thursday, buoyed by gains of tech-related stocks after Wall Street inched to more records following a surprisingly encouraging report on inflation and a stunning forecast for growth from Oracle because of the artificial intelligence boom.

In early European trading, Germany’s DAX was nearly flat at 23,631.29. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4 per cent to 9,259.17, while France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.5 per cent to 7,803.52. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 1.2per cent to 44,372.50, with tech investment company SoftBank Group’s shares jumping 8.3 per cent in a second straight day of gains.

Data released Thursday showed Japan’s producer prices rose 2.7 per cent year-on-year in August from a 2.5 per cent rise the previous month, in line with market expectations. The higher cost of food, transport equipment and machinery contributed to the rise in prices.

In Chinese markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slid 0.4 per cent to 26,086.32 while the Shanghai Composite index rose 1.7 per cent to 3,875.31. Shares of chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp added more than 6per cent, while Hua Hong Semiconductor rose 3.8per cent.