BANGKOK (AP) โ Global stocks were mixed Thursday after a modest advance on Wall Street that kept the market on track for a fourth straight weekly gain.
The markets of Japan and the United States are closed for holidays.
Oil prices initially fell about $1 a barrel after OPEC postponed a meeting to discuss production cuts until next week. The oil cartel has been maintaining a tight market for crude oil with production cuts. He is expected to extend those cuts after oil prices have fallen following a summer surge to nearly $100 a barrel.
Germany's DAX gained 0.1% to 15,969.49 and Paris' CAC 40 rose 0.1% to 7,266.18. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 7,080.48.
Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were broadly unchanged.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.4% and the Dow Jones rose 0.5%. The Nasdaq gained 0.5%. Operations were quiet ahead of Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday. US markets will open for a half-day of trading on Friday.
In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng reversed early losses, gaining 1% to 17,910.84 and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.6% to 3,061.86.
Markets in Greater China have been reeling in reaction to measures taken by Chinese regulators to shore up the weakened housing market. Shares in troubled developer Country Garden rose 16% amid reports that it is included on a list of property companies eligible for financial support. Sino-Ocean Group Holding shares soared 27%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.6% to 7,029.20. In South Korea, the Kospi rose 0.1% to 2,514.96.
The Bangkok SET lost 0.4% and the Taiwan Taiex lost 0.1%. The Mumbai Sensex gained 0.1%.
Technology and communications services stocks accounted for a large portion of Wednesday's gains for the S&P 500. Microsoft rose 1.3% and Google parent Alphabet added 1.1%.
Broadcom fell 0.9% after announcing it expects to complete its $69 billion deal to acquire VMWare on Wednesday after clearing all regulatory hurdles.
A 0.9% drop in oil prices hit energy companies. Energy giant Exxon Mobil fell 0.4% and oilfield services company Halliburton fell 0.8%.
Nvidia fell 2.5%, despite comfortably beating analysts' profit and revenue forecasts. Restrictions on exports to China are putting pressure on the company, although its shares have more than tripled this year amid growing demand for its chips in artificial intelligence applications.
Treasury yields remained relatively stable. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.41% from 4.40% late Tuesday.
A consumer confidence survey conducted by the University of Michigan showed that confidence remains strong. Wall Street has been closely monitoring reports on consumer spending and confidence for more clues about the future of the economy.
Forecasts of a possible recession have been postponed until 2024 and at the same time softened. The inflation rate continues to decline, consumer spending remains strong, and the overall economy is doing well. This has fueled hopes and bets that the Federal Reserve will no longer raise interest rates and could soon consider cutting them.
"Turkey prices are about 5.6% less than last year, stuffing mix is โโalmost 3% less, pie crusts are almost 5% cheaper and cranberry prices are down more." 18%," Swissquote's Ipek Ozkardeskaya said in a comment. "It is said that a Thanksgiving party for 10 people on average would cost less than $62, or less than $6.2 per person, down about 4.5% compared to last year."
Federal Reserve officials have said the outlook for the economy remains uncertain and that they will make upcoming rate decisions based on incoming reports. The Fed will get another big update next week when the government releases its October report on a key measure of inflation tracked by the central bank.
In other trading Thursday, benchmark U.S. crude oil lost 49 cents to $76.61 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 67 cents to $77.10 a barrel on Wednesday, but fell as low as $73.50 in trading.
Brent crude, the international pricing standard, lost 60 cents to $81.36 a barrel.
The US dollar fell to 149.19 Japanese yen from 149.56 yen. The euro rose to $1.0912 from $1.0889.
