Stock market today: Global stocks mostly rise as wild swings hit Shanghai trading | Associated Press

TOKYO (`) — Global stocks were mostly higher Friday, helped by optimism about technology stocks. But Shanghai's benchmark saw sharp swings amid concerns about the economic outlook and other risks.

The Shanghai Composite Index closed 1.5% lower at 2,730.15, capping its worst losing week in five years. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.2% to 15,533.56 as gains for technology companies offset declines in property stocks.

At that point, the Shanghai index fell below 2,700 to 2,666.74, sparking a flood of comments on social media in China, including one commenter who exclaimed: “Now we're all sitting on the spot.” The benchmark is in the past Down nearly 17% year-over-year and down 9.3% in the last three months.

Analysts said the selloff was triggered at least in part by so-called “snowball derivatives,” which pay high earnings yields but also incur large losses when stock prices fall. The sale of biotech companies also raised concerns about a possible U.S. move to control trading in Chinese companies such as WuXi AppTec, whose shares fell 21%.

Confidence was also dented by an International Monetary Fund report that forecast China's economy would grow 4.6% this year and 4% in 2025, compared with 5.2% last year.

In early European trading, France's CAC 40 rose 0.6% to 7,632.04, while Germany's DAX rose 0.8% to 16,988.93. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.4% to 7,649.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average's future remained unchanged, while that of the S&P 500 gained 0.5%.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.4% to close at 36,158.02. Shares of Aozora Bank plunged nearly 16% after it reported losses on its U.S. real estate investments. On Thursday, the bank's shares fell 27.4 percent. The lender attributed its losses to high interest rates and a weaker commercial real estate market during and after the pandemic as companies shifted to hybrid or remote work arrangements.

The Japanese bank's woes are similar to those of New York Community Bancorp, whose shares fell more than 40% this week after it reported a loss for the latest quarter and cut its dividend to bolster its financial strength. New York Community Bancorp acquired much of Signature Bank last year after it and other regional banks collapsed, and its losses reflect problems across the industry.

Elsewhere in Asia, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.5% to 7,699.40. South Korea's Kospi rose 2.9% to 2,615.31 after the country reported strong export data.

On Thursday, U.S. stocks on Wall Street rebounded in a broad rally after their worst day since September.

The S&P 500 gained 1.2%, recouping three-quarters of its sharp loss from the previous day, while the Dow gained 1%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.3%, buoyed by Big Tech stocks that have an outsized influence.

Traders are increasingly betting that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates in May after paring expectations from March. Whenever it begins, it would mark a dramatic reversal after the Fed raised its key interest rate to its highest level since 2001 in hopes of bringing inflation under control.

High interest rates deliberately slow down the economy and undercut investment prices.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 31 cents to $74.13 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 40 cents to $79.10 a barrel.

In foreign exchange trading, the U.S. dollar was little changed at 146.72 Japanese yen, down from 146.43 yen. The euro was at $1.0893, up from $1.0874.

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