BANGKOK (AP) — Stocks rose in Europe and Asia on Friday after stocks on Wall Street set a new record following mixed reports on the state of the U.S. economy.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index traded near a record high, 35 years after it peaked and then crashed with the collapse of Japan's financial bubble.
Germany's DAX gained 0.6% to 17,153.79 and Paris' CAC 40 also rose 0.6% to 7,790.14. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.8% to 7,654.71.
The S&P 500 future gained 0.1% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average future fell 0.1%.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo closed up 0.9% at 38,487.24. It has been hovering just below the record of 38,915.87 it set on December 29, 1989, just before a drop in stock and property prices ushered in an era of slower, faltering growth. At its highest point on Friday, it traded at 38,865.06.
Stock prices have been rising despite persistent signs of weakness in the Japanese economy, which fell into recession in the final quarter of 2023. Efforts to sustain growth at higher levels have had limited success, undermined by the weakness of private investment and consumer spending.
Changes to the rules regarding tax-free investment accounts have explained some of the rise in Japanese stock prices. A weak yen has attracted bargain hunters, and stocks have also benefited from investors leaving Chinese markets.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 2.5% to 16,339.96 and Seoul's Kospi rose 1.3% to 2,648.76.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7% to 7,658.30. The Bangkok SET fell 0.1% and India's Sensex rose 0.6%.
Taiwan's Taiex was down 0.2% a day after hitting an all-time high of 18,644.57, while the market's main mover, TSMC, the world's largest computer chip maker, rose almost 8%. That jump came after analysts upgraded their price recommendations for shares of Nvidia, whose main chip supplier is TSMC, due to expected growth in artificial intelligence.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 5,029.73, surpassing its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.9% to 38,773.12 and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.3% to 15,906.17.
A mixed set of data on the economy included a report showing sales at U.S. retailers weakened more than expected in January compared with December. It was a surprising drop in spending by American households, whose strength has helped keep the economy out of a recession, even with high interest rates. The advantage for financial markets is that it could also remove some upward pressure on inflation.
A separate report said fewer American workers filed for unemployment benefits last week than expected, the latest sign of a strong labor market despite high-profile layoff announcements.
Taken together, the economic reports helped lower Treasury yields in the bond market. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.24% from 4.27% late Wednesday.
Treasury yields have been oscillating recently. Stronger-than-expected reports on inflation, the labor market and the broader economy have forced Wall Street traders to delay their forecasts for when the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates.
The Federal Reserve has already raised its main interest rate to the highest level since 2001. The hope is that high rates will squeeze the economy enough to reduce inflation to a comfortable level without causing a recession.
In other trading on Friday, benchmark U.S. crude oil lost 24 cents to $77.79 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, fell 40 cents to $82.47 a barrel.
The US dollar rose to 150.21 Japanese yen from 149.94 yen. The euro fell to $1.0770 from $1.0773.
