MANILA, Philippines -- Asian 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.U.S.futures fell while oil prices advanced.Japan’s Nikkei 225 index climbed 1.2% to 50,768.12, 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’s 6% jump in early trading slipped to a 1% gain by midday.
In Chinese markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.4% to 25,881.66 while the Shanghai Composite index picked up 0.2% to 3,882.40.An annual planning meeting, the annual Central Economic Work Conference in Beijing on Wednesday to Thursday, setting 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 1.3% to 8,700.80.
In Seoul, South Korea’s Kospi rose nearly 0.7 to 4,138.64.Taiwan's Taiex index added 0.2% while India's BSE Sensex rose 0.4%.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.Popular ReadsTrump backtracks on releasing boat strike video, distances himself from controversyDec 9, 5:03 PMFormer Olympian turned alleged drug kingpin seen in newly released photosDec 9, 1:25 PMTrump admin live updates: Trump pardons former entertainment exec indicted by own DOJDec 4, 6:23 AMIt’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 i...