ELAINE KURTENBACH, AP Business Writer
BANGKOK (AP) – European stocks rose Friday in mixed trade in Asia as concerns about risks related to huge investments in artificial intelligence and a potential U.S.-Iranian conflict weighed on major indexes.
Germany’s DAX rose 0.2% to 25,103.32, while Paris’ CAC40 index rose 0.7% to 8,460.35. Britain’s FTSE 100 index rose 0.4% to 10,672.75.
The S&P 500 futures index rose 0.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%.
Tokyo’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.1% to 56,825.70 yen, as shares of major banks and other financial institutions plunged on concerns about the potential impact of weakening private credit companies that lend to companies at risk of losing business to AI.
These include market heavyweights such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, which is affiliated with Blue Owl Capital, a private credit company. MUFJ shares fell 2.2% in Tokyo after Blue Owl fell 5.9% on Thursday.
Toyota Motor Corporation and Sony fell 3.7% and 3.2%, respectively.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 1.1% to 26,413.35 as markets reopened after the Lunar New Year holiday. Markets in mainland China and Taiwan will be closed until next week.
However, South Korea’s Kospi soared 2.3% to a new record of 5,808.53, led by major defense contractors such as Hanwha Aerospace whose shares soared 6.4%. The company is one of the companies benefiting from increased military spending in many countries.
Elsewhere in the region, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.1% to 9,081.40.
India’s Sensex rose 0.7%, while Bangkok’s SET fell 1.1%.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3% to 22,682.73.
Booking Holdings fell 6.1%, one of the market’s biggest losses, even though the company behind the Booking.com, Priceline and OpenTable brands reported slightly higher profits than analysts expected in its latest quarter.
The company is one of many companies under pressure from concerns that competitors using artificial intelligence technology could upend industries and steal customers away. Booking’s stock has already lost about a quarter of its value this year.
Walmart, on the other hand, rose 2.7% early, then pushed and pulled the market before reversing its stock and falling 1.4%. The retail giant reported results for its latest quarter that beat analysts’ expectations, but earnings expectations for next year fell short of expectations.
Part of the S&P 500’s big rally was driven by oil company stocks, which rose along with oil prices. Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 1.9% per barrel, and Brent crude also rose 1.9%. Oil prices have risen to their highest since early August as both the United States and Iran signal they are prepared for war if negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program break down.
Early Friday morning, benchmark U.S. crude pared early gains and fell 20 cents to $66.20 a barrel. Brent, the international standard, fell 17 cents to $71.49 a barrel.
Rising oil prices may cause the Federal Reserve to hold off on cutting interest rates. Fed officials said at their last meeting that they wanted to see inflation fall further before supporting further rate cuts this year.
Meanwhile, some reports say a easing in the number of U.S. workers applying for unemployment benefits could indicate the pace of layoffs is slowing.
Other U.S. economic reports say manufacturing growth in the mid-Atlantic region is accelerating, but the U.S. trade deficit in December could also widen more than economists expected.
In other trading early Friday, the dollar rose to 155.59 yen from 154.99 yen. The euro fell from $1.1775 to $1.1763.
Gold prices rose 1% and silver prices rose 2.7%.
Bitcoin price rose 1.9% to $68,135.
