BANGKOK — World shares were mixed on Thursday after declines for AI stocks dragged the U.S. market to its worst day in nearly a month.
Traders were waiting for an update later in the day on U.S. inflation, and on a decision Friday by Japan’s central bank on interest rates. The Bank of Japan is expected to raise its key rate by 0.25 percentage point to tamp down price pressures, despite a contraction in the July-September quarter.
Germany’s DAX edged 0.2% higher to 24,007.33, while the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.4% to 8,114.30. Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.3% to 9,800.00.
The future for the S&P 500 gained 0.3%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.1%.
In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 1% to 49,001.50, with technology shares leading the decline.
Technology and telecoms giant SoftBank sank 4%. Computer chip maker Tokyo Electron lost 3.2% while chip testing equipment maker Advantest dropped 3.3%.
Honda Motor Corp. fell 2.2% after reports said it was suspending production at some plants in Japan and China due to shortages of computer chips.
South Korea’s Kospi sank 1.5% to 3,994.51, also pulled lower by selling of shares in electronics companies and automakers. LG Electronics declined 3.1%, while Samsung Electronics lost 0.3%.
Chinese markets were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng bounced back from early losses to gain 0.1%, closing at 25,498.13. The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.2% higher, to 3,876.37.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was nearly unchanged at 8,588.20.
Later Thursday, the U.S. government will report on inflation las
