CoreComm Internet

Features

Make this your home page

World shares track US stock market's rise to record highs despite AI bubble worries

By TERESA CEROJANO  -  AP

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — World shares rose on Friday, tracking Wall Street’s climb to records despite a sell-off for Oracle as worries persisted about a potential bubble in artificial-intelligence technology.

The future for the S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.3%

In early European trading, Germany's DAX added nearly 0.6% to 24,427.67. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.4% to 9,737.25, and the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.4% to 8,141.66.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index climbed 1.4% to 50,836.55, rebounding from the previous session’s losses.

Investors remain cautious ahead of next week’s policy meeting of the Bank of Japan, where it is expected to raise interest rates, but technology shares helped lead broad gains.

Softbank Group gained 3.9% after an early jump of 6%.

In Chinese markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.8% to 25,976.79, while the Shanghai Composite index picked up 0.4% to 3,889.35.

An annual planning meeting, the Central Economic Work Conference in Beijing on Wednesday to Thursday, set China’s priorities for 2026. According to state media reports, those include working to reverse a decline in investment and to boost consumer spending. However, no major policy shifts were reported.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.2% to 8,697.30.

In Seoul, South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.4% to 4,167.16.

Taiwan's Taiex index added 0.6% while India's BSE Sensex rose 0.5%.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 inched up 0.2% to 6,901.00 and eked past its prior all-time closing high, which was set in October. The Dow Jones Industrial leaped 1.3% to 48,704.01, to top its own record set last month. The Nasdaq composite lagged behind and slipped 0.3% to 23,593.86 because of weakness in AI stocks.

It’s the latest return to records for the market following what had appeared to be a debilitating set of worries. Some of the most recent included concerns about what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates and whether all the dollars flowing into AI chips and data centers will produce profits and productivity as prolific as proponents are promising.

The Fed on Wednesday cut its main interest rate for the third time this year and indicated another cut may be ahead in 2026. Wall Street loves lower interest rates because they can boost the economy and send prices for investments higher, even if they potentially make inflation worse.

But a return to records for the U.S. stock market does not mean all worries are gone.

Oracle dropped 10.8% and had briefly been on track earlier in the day for its worst loss since 2001, when the dot-com bubble was still deflating. Doubts remain about whether all the spending that Oracle is doing on AI technology will be worth it.

Such doubts are weighing on the AI industry broadly, even as many billions of dollars continue to flow in.

Nvidia, the chip company that’s become the poster child of the AI boom and is raking in close to $20 billion each month, fell 1.5% Thursday. It was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500 because of its massive size.

In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 24 cents to $57.84 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 22 cents to $61.50 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar rose to 155.87 Japanese yen from 155.58. The euro edged down to $1.1731 from $1.1739.

...

----------
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

CoreComm is not responsible for content on external sites. Please review the privacy and security policies of each vendor before making online purchases or providing personal information. Forecast Information Provided by AccuWeather.