World Shares Mostly Up, US Stocks Flat 01/09 04:50

   World shares mostly gained on Friday ahead of the U.S. Labor Department's 
release of its latest jobs update.

   HONG KONG (AP) -- World shares mostly gained on Friday ahead of the U.S. 
Labor Department's release of its latest jobs update.

   Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.4% to 10,085.47 in early trading, while the CAC 
40 in Paris rose 0.5% to 8,287.19. Germany's DAX edged less than 0.1% higher, 
to 25,132.43.

   The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little 
changed.

   In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 1.6% to 51,939.89. Shares of 
Fast Retailing, the fashion company behind Uniqlo, jumped more than 10.6% after 
its quarterly operating profit surged about 34% year-on-year. It revised its 
full-year forecasts upward.

   Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.3% to 26,231.79, and the Shanghai Composite 
index rose 0.9% to 4,120.43, after official data showed China's inflation rate 
picked up in December, rising at its fastest pace in almost three years. That 
suggests an improvement in demand, which tends to push prices higher.

   The Chinese artificial intelligence startup MiniMax, whose shares debuted on 
the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Friday, surged 109%.

   In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell less than 0.1% to 8,717.80. Shares of Rio 
Tinto fell more than 6.2%, after the mining group confirmed that it is in 
preliminary merger talks with Glencore in a deal that could create the biggest 
mining company in the world.

   South Korea's Kospi added 0.8% to 4,586.32.

   Taiwan's Taiex fell 0.2%, and India's Sensex lost 0.7%.

   Investors are watching for the Labor Department's Friday release of its 
monthly job report for December, which could give a more comprehensive look at 
the U.S. job market. The Supreme Court is also expected to issue a possible 
ruling on Trump's far-reaching "Liberation Day" tariffs on Friday, which could 
lift market sentiment.

   On Thursday, defense-industry companies advanced on Wall Street, after 
President Donald Trump said he wants to hike U.S. military spending to $1.5 
trillion in 2027. L3Harris Technologies climbed 5.2%, Lockheed Martin rose 4.3% 
and Northrop Grumman edged up 2.4%.

   Other moves for Wall Street were more modest, after optimism for the start 
of the year faded slightly on Wednesday. The S&P 500 added less than 0.1% and 
the Dow climbed nearly 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.4%.

   U.S. data released Thursday showed that filings for unemployment benefits 
rose slightly in the last week of 2025, and had remained historically low and 
in line with economists' expectations. But workers productivity picked up in 
the July-September quarter.

   In other dealings early Friday, oil prices gained after a volatile week 
following Trump's ouster of the leader of Venezuela. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 
4 cents to $57.80 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 8 
cents to $62.07.

   Supply worries persist. Venezuela has some of the largest oil reserves in 
the world and the U.S. has sought to assert control over its oil resources. It 
seized two more oil tankers this week, including one that sailed under a Russia 
flag that the U.S. said had evaded a blockade on sanctioned oil vessels around 
Venezuela.

   The U.S. dollar rose to 157.72 Japanese yen, up from 156.80 yen.

   The euro slipped to $1.1643 from $1.1661.