World Shares Advance on Japan Rate Hike12/19 04:49

   World shares advanced on Friday after the Bank of Japan raised its key 
policy rate to its highest level in 30 years and U.S. inflation cooled more 
than expected.

   (AP) -- World shares advanced on Friday after the Bank of Japan raised its 
key policy rate to its highest level in 30 years and U.S. inflation cooled more 
than expected.

   Germany's DAX gained 0.2% to 24,241.32, while the CAC 40 edged 0.1% higher 
to 8,156.83. Britain's FTSE 100 gained less than 2 points to 9,838.83.

   Friday's 0.25 percentage point increase by the BOJ was widely expected. It 
took the benchmark rate to 0.75%, the highest since 1995, but still low 
compared with other major economies.

   In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 1% to 49,507.21, leading the rise across 
Asia's key markets.

   Following the BOJ's decision, Japan's benchmark 10-year government bond 
yield surpassed the 2% mark for the first time since May 2006. The U.S. dollar 
rose to 157.08 Japanese yen from 155.53 yen.

   Global investors had been bracing for reactions to the BOJ's move, but 
markets appeared to take the decision in stride. The future for the S&P 500 
rose 0.3%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1%.

   "The Bank of Japan's decision to raise interest rates at its meeting today 
was clearly signaled ahead of time and therefore came as no surprise," Abhijit 
Surya of Capital Economics said in a report, noting that "financial markets had 
almost fully priced in a hike ahead of today's meeting."

   Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng rose almost 0.8% to 25,690.53, while the 
Shanghai Composite index added 0.4% to 3,890.45.

   In Seoul, the Kospi climbed 0.7% to 4,020.55. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 picked 
up 0.4% to 8,621.40.

   Asia's share gains were also built on optimism over more Fed rate cuts, 
after the U.S. on Thursday reported a lower-than-expected 2.7% rise in 
inflation for November, leaving potentially more room for the Fed to cut rates 
as the U.S. job market slows.

   On Thursday, European indexes gained after the Bank of England cut its key 
interest rate and the European Central Bank kept its rate steady.

   But Thursday's U.S. inflation update may also not move the needle that much 
at the Fed given how noisy economic reports have been following the 43-day U.S. 
government's shutdown. The inflation report was delayed eight days by the 
shutdown, which also prevented the Labor Department from compiling overall 
numbers for consumer prices and core inflation in October.

   The next monthly update on inflation, for December, could provide a better 
gauge of what's actually happening.

   In the U.S. on Thursday, the S&P 500 edged up 0.8% following a four-day 
losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1% and the Nasdaq 
composite rose 1.4%.

   Technology stocks helped lift the U.S. stock market. Micron Technology, a 
key maker of memory chips, jumped 10.2% on stronger-than-expected profit and 
revenue for the latest quarter ending November as the company also delivered an 
upbeat forecast for upcoming revenue and profit.

   But investor concerns over an overblown AI bubble are still clouding the 
prospects of some companies which benefited big from the AI boom. Broadcom and 
Oracle's shares had fallen significantly since last week. Oracle's shares rose 
0.9% on Thursday, while Broadcom's added 1.1%.

   Nvidia, the chip company that's become Wall Street's most influential 
because of its immense size, gained 1.8%.

   Another winner was Trump Media & Technology Group, which jumped 41.9% to 
trim some of its steep loss for the year so far, 69.3% coming into the day. The 
company, which began with President Donald Trump's Truth Social platform and 
then moved into cryptocurrencies and various other lines of business, is now 
moving into nuclear power.

   It's merging with TAE Technologies in an all-stock deal, and each company 
will own roughly half of the combined business.

   In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 16 cents to 
$55.84 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 21 cents to 
$59.61 per barrel.

   The euro slipped to $1.1715 from $1.1724.

   The price of bitcoin rose 3.9% to about $88,000, according to CoinDesk.