Stock market today: World shares are mixed as 2024 trading winds down

BANGKOK (AP) — European and Asian shares were mixed Friday in thin year-end trading, with European markets moving in narrow ranges as they reopened after Christmas holidays.

Germany’s DAX edged 0.1% higher to 19,863.29, while the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.4% at 7,308.99. Britain’s FTSE 100 inched 0.1% lower, to 8,147.00.

The future for the S&P 500 shed 0.4%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3%.

In Asian trading, Japan’s benchmark surged as the yen remained weak against the U.S. dollar.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index climbed 1.8% to 40,285.25, as shares in automakers and other major exporters rose. A weak yen boosts profits for exporters and companies with big operations overseas when they convert their earnings into yen.

The dollar fell to 157.86 Japanese yen from 158.00 yen. It had been trading below 150 yen until a few days ago.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged less than 0.1% lower to 20,090.46, while the Shanghai Composite index was up about 2 points, at 3,400.14.

China’s National Statistics Bureau reported that industrial profits fell more than 7% in November from a year earlier and that they fell nearly 5% year-on-year in January-November.

South Korea’s Kospi sank 1% to 2,410.35 after the country’s main opposition party voted to impeach the country’s acting leader over his reluctance to fill three Constitutional Court vacancies ahead of the court’s review of rebellion charges against impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol stemming from his short-lived martial law decree on Dec. 3.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5% to 8,261.80.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell less than 0.1%, ending the benchmark index’s three-day winning streak. The Dow added 0.1% and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.1%.

Trading volume was lighter than usual as U.S. markets reopened after Christmas.

“U.S. equities are stuck in a holding pattern as trading volumes dry up following the holiday break,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. “Liquidity remains razor-thin, and market moves appear more about year-end housekeeping than aggressive positioning.”

Traders were watching to see whether retailers have a strong holiday season. The day after Christmas traditionally ranks among the top 10 biggest shopping days of the year, as consumers go online or rush to stores to cash in gift cards and raid bargain bins.

The Labor Department reported that U.S. applications for unemployment benefits held steady last week, though continuing claims rose to the highest level in three years.

Wall Street has several economic reports to look forward to next week, including updates on pending home sales and home prices, a report on U.S. construction spending and snapshots of manufacturing activity.

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