World Shares Track US Stock Market Rise12/12 04:54

   World shares rose on Friday, tracking Wall Street's climb to records despite 
a sell-off for Oracle as worries persisted about a potential bubble in 
artificial-intelligence technology.

   MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- World shares rose on Friday, tracking Wall 
Street's climb to records despite a sell-off for Oracle as worries persisted 
about a potential bubble in artificial-intelligence technology.

   The future for the S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1%, while that for the Dow 
Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.3%

   In early European trading, Germany's DAX added nearly 0.6% to 24,427.67. 
Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.4% to 9,737.25, and the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.4% 
to 8,141.66.

   Japan's Nikkei 225 index climbed 1.4% to 50,836.55, rebounding from the 
previous session's losses.

   Investors remain cautious ahead of next week's policy meeting of the Bank of 
Japan, where it is expected to raise interest rates, but technology shares 
helped lead broad gains.

   Softbank Group gained 3.9% after an early jump of 6%.

   In Chinese markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1.8% to 25,976.79, 
while the Shanghai Composite index picked up 0.4% to 3,889.35.

   An annual planning meeting, the Central Economic Work Conference in Beijing 
on Wednesday to Thursday, set China's priorities for 2026. According to state 
media reports, those include working to reverse a decline in investment and to 
boost consumer spending. However, no major policy shifts were reported.

   In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.2% to 8,697.30.

   In Seoul, South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.4% to 4,167.16.

   Taiwan's Taiex index added 0.6% while India's BSE Sensex rose 0.5%.

   On Thursday, the S&P 500 inched up 0.2% to 6,901.00 and eked past its prior 
all-time closing high, which was set in October. The Dow Jones Industrial 
leaped 1.3% to 48,704.01, to top its own record set last month. The Nasdaq 
composite lagged behind and slipped 0.3% to 23,593.86 because of weakness in AI 
stocks.

   It's the latest return to records for the market following what had appeared 
to be a debilitating set of worries. Some of the most recent included concerns 
about what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates and whether all the 
dollars flowing into AI chips and data centers will produce profits and 
productivity as prolific as proponents are promising.

   The Fed on Wednesday cut its main interest rate for the third time this year 
and indicated another cut may be ahead in 2026. Wall Street loves lower 
interest rates because they can boost the economy and send prices for 
investments higher, even if they potentially make inflation worse.

   But a return to records for the U.S. stock market does not mean all worries 
are gone.

   Oracle dropped 10.8% and had briefly been on track earlier in the day for 
its worst loss since 2001, when the dot-com bubble was still deflating. Doubts 
remain about whether all the spending that Oracle is doing on AI technology 
will be worth it.

   Such doubts are weighing on the AI industry broadly, even as many billions 
of dollars continue to flow in.

   Nvidia, the chip company that's become the poster child of the AI boom and 
is raking in close to $20 billion each month, fell 1.5% Thursday. It was the 
heaviest weight on the S&P 500 because of its massive size.

   In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 24 cents to 
$57.84 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 22 cents to 
$61.50 per barrel.

   The U.S. dollar rose to 155.87 Japanese yen from 155.58. The euro edged down 
to $1.1731 from $1.1739.