HONG KONG (AP) — Global shares were higher Wednesday despite losses on Wall Street, as investors await the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates, with high expectations of a hike.
The potential hike will be the first in three years as inflation remains elevated in the United States and above the Fed’s target. Meanwhile, U.S. futures edged higher.
In early European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 10,681.92. France's CAC 40 climbed 0.2% to 8,103.73,
while Germany's DAX edged up 0.1% to 25,424.65.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.7% to 63,923.00, despite official data showing that Japan recorded a fourth consecutive month of trade deficit in August.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.4% to 6,717.97. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.2% to 24,713.78. The Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.7% to 3,891.60.
Artificial intelligence-related stocks remained volatile after U.S. AI leaders called for slower development to ensure safety.
SoftBank Group, a key investor in OpenAI, dropped 1.5% after rising 7.5% the day before. Chip equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron rose 2.1%, while Japanese memory maker Kioxia Holdings lost 1.9%.
South Korea’s memory chipmaker SK Hynix climbed 4.1%. Samsung Electronics was up 2%.
Taiwan’s Taiex advanced 0.7%. Taiwan’s leading AI chipmaker TSMC, or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., fell 0.2%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3% to 8,696.50.
India's Sensex gained 0.4%.
Oil prices fell early Wednesday after rising on Tuesday as tensions dragged on between the U.S. and Iran, and as Saudi Arabia’s crucial oil pipeline closure added pressure on global oil supply.
Brent crude, the international standard, was 0.4% lower at $108.34 a barrel, but still well above the around $72 per barrel level before the start of the war in late February.
Benchmark U.S. crude fell 0.9% to $104.86 a barrel.
On Tuesday, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 fell 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6%, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped 0.8%.
AI stocks in the U.S. were steadying. Nvidia climbed 0.6%, while Advanced Micro Devices rose 2.2%.
Higher U.S. Treasury yields have put pressure on the stock market. Government bond yields have risen as the Iran war-driven energy crisis added to inflationary pressure while the U.S. national debt grew.
The 10-year Treasury was at 5% early Wednesday, after it briefly touched 5.04% this week, its highest level in years.
In other dealings, the U.S. dollar fell to 155.08 Japanese yen from 155.10 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1541, down from $1.1544.
