YURI KAGEYAMA, Associated Press
8 minutes ago
The New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, June 29, 2022 in New York. Stocks got off to a weak start on Friday, continuing a dismal streak that plunged Wall Street into a bear market last month as traders fear inflation will be hard to beat and that a recession could also be on the horizon. (` Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
TOKYO (`) — Stocks rose slightly in European trading Friday, after a mixed session in Asia, where many regional markets were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Tokyo ended Friday up less than 0.1% after hitting a 34-year high earlier in the day. It closed at 36,897.42, helped by comments from a Bank of Japan official who said the central bank would likely stick with its lax monetary policy even if it raises its key interest rate from minus 0.1% above zero.
The German DAX was little changed at 16,973.32 and the CAC 40 in Paris was also unchanged at 7,665.13. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.1% to 7,605.15.
The S&P 500 futures gained less than 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat.
Markets in mainland China were closed and Hong Kong had a half-day session with the Hang Seng losing 0.8% to 15,746.58. Markets in China will close next week.
China's securities regulator capped a week of moves to shore up shaky financial markets by announcing it had punished dozens of people at one of the country's largest brokerages for insider trading and other crimes.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained almost 0.1% to 7,644.80. Thailand's SET edged up 0.2%.
U.S. stocks rose on Thursday on signs that the labor market remains remarkably strong. The S&P 500 gained 0.1% and the Dow also reached an all-time high with an increase of 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2%.
The latest sign of strength in the American economy came from a report that showed fewer workers than expected filed for unemployment benefits last week.
In recent months, such a report may have hurt the stock market amid fears it would mean a longer wait for interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. But investors have come to believe that good economic news is good for stocks because it boosts company profits.
In other trading Friday, benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 16 cents to $76.38 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 4 cents to $81.59 a barrel.
In foreign exchange trading, the US dollar rose to 149.39 Japanese yen from 149.32 yen. The euro was at $1.0767, down from $1.0780.
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