TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose Friday, getting a lift from a rally on Wall Street as well as declining oil prices, while European benchmarks slipped in early trading.
France's CAC 40 shed 0.6% in early trading to 8,136.51, while the German DAX slipped 0.5% to 25,577.02. Britain's FTSE 100 dipped 0.8% to 10,730.39.
U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up 0.2% to 52,299.00. S&P 500 futures rose 0.3% to 7,729.50.
In Asia, Japan's
benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.4% to finish at 65,018.95 after the Bank of Japan raised the benchmark interest rate to 1.25% from 1.0%, a 31-year high.
The move had been widely expected, coming after the Federal Reserve also raised its key rate this week. Pressures have been coming from the U.S. for Japan to raise rates because of concerns about the weakening yen.
The nations intervened together recently to prop up the yen. But the efforts haven't had a big impact.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 157.73 Japanese yen from 155.95 yen. The euro cost $1.1486, up from $1.1480.
South Korea's Kospi jumped 2.7% to 6,894.23. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed, declining less than 0.1% to 8,731.20. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.6% to 24,750.78, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.9% to 3,911.87.
Falling oil prices and easing pressure from the bond market have been working as a plus for Wall Street shares, which in turn are helping global market sentiments.
Also working as a plus is the recent slide in Brent crude oil, from the nearly $110 it reached earlier in the week on worries that the war with Iran will keep oil bottled up in the Middle East instead of going to customers worldwide.
Brent is still more expensive than the $72 per barrel that it cost earlier this summer.
In Asian trading, Brent, the international standard, lost 2.15% to $102.57 a barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude slid 1.92% to $99.95 a barrel.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised the short-term interest rate that it controls, the federal funds rate, by a quarter of a percentage point for its first hike in more than three years. Officials also signaled they may raise the federal funds rate one more time this year as they try to get high inflation in the U.S. under control.
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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.
