TOKYO (AP) — Global shares were mostly higher Thursday, taking their cues from another Wall Street record rally, as bitcoin traded above $100,000.
France's CAC 40 added 0.6% in early trading to 7,346.64 after the country's far-right and left-wing lawmakers joined together to vote on a no-confidence motion prompted by budget disputes that will force Prime Minister Michel Barnier and his Cabinet to resign.
Germany's DAX rose 0.4% to 20,303.05, while Britain's FTSE 100 edged up 0.1% to 8,346.63.
The future for the S&P 500 was up less than 0.1% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was unchanged.
Bitcoin surged above $100,000 late Wednesday, U.S. time, after President-elect Donald Trump chose crypto advocate Paul Atkins as his nominee to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. The cryptocurrency has climbed dramatically from $69,374 on Nov. 5, Election Day.
Early Thursday, it was trading at 102,886, according to CoinDesk.
In Asian trading, South Korea's Kospi fell 0.9% to 2,441.85, extending a 1.4% decline the day before as President Yoon Suk Yeol was facing possible impeachment after he suddenly declared martial law on Tuesday night. He revoked the martial law declaration six hours later.
Yoon accepted his defense minister's resignation Thursday as opposition parties moved to impeach them both. The main opposition Democratic Party and other small opposition parties submitted a joint motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday over his martial law declaration.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.3% to finish at 39,395.60, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.2% to 8,474.90. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.9% to 19,560.44. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.1% to 3,368.86.
Taiwan's Taiex gained nearly 0.1%, while the Sensex in India was up 0.9%.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 climbed 0.6%, logging its 56th record high close this year. The Dow industrials rose 0.7% and the Nasdaq composite added 1.3%.
This week’s highlight for Wall Street will be Friday’s jobs report from the U.S. government, which will show how many people employers hired and fired last month.
Expectations are brewing that the Fed will cut its main interest rate again when it meets in two weeks. The Fed began easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high in September, hoping to offer more support for the job market.
The central bank had appeared set to continue cutting rates into next year, but the election of Donald Trump has scrambled Wall Street’s expectations somewhat. Trump’s preference for higher tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation, which could alter the Fed’s plans.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude added 15 cents to $68.69 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 13 cents to $72.44 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar fell to 150.23 Japanese yen from 150.62 yen. The euro cost $1.0529, inching up from $1.0510.
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