Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street as AI stocks like Nvidia turn higher again. The S&P 500 was up 0.5% in the first few minutes of trading Friday. The index is coming off a solid gain but is still lower for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 256 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.7%. Winnebago Industries jumped 14% after turning in profits and revenue for its latest quarter that easily beat analysts’ estimates. Japanese stocks rose after the Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate to its highest level in 30 years.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Wall Street inched higher Friday after the Bank of Japan raised its key policy rate to its highest level in 30 years.
Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.1%, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were unchanged. Nasdaq futures rose 0.2%.
Shares of Nike slumped more than 10% with the impact of tariffs on the company overshadowing a pretty strong quarter. Decker Outdoors, the shoe retailer and owner of Ugg and Hoka, fell more than 3% with investors deducing that it faces the trade pressures in the U.S. led trade war.
Oracle rose 4% on news that it, along with two other investors, had signed agreements to form a new TikTok U.S. joint ventur e. Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX each get a 15% share in the popular social video platform, ensuring that it can continue operating in the U.S.
In Japan, Friday’s 0.25 percentage point increase by the BOJ was widely expected. It took the benchmark rate to 0.75%, the highest since 1995, but still low compared with other major economies.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 1% to 49,507.21, leading the rise across Asia’s key markets.
Following the BOJ’s decision, Japan’s benchmark 10-year government bond yield surpassed the 2% mark for the first time since May 2006. The U.S. dollar rose to 157.08 Japanese yen from 155.53 yen.
Global investors had been bracing for reactions to the BOJ’s move, but markets appeared to take the decision in stride.
“The Bank of Japan’s decision to raise interest rates at its meeting today was clearly signaled ahead of time and therefore came as no surprise,” Abhijit Surya of Capital Economics said in a report, noting that “financial markets had almost fully priced in a hike ahead of today’s meeting.”
Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng rose almost 0.8% to 25,690.53, while the Shanghai Composite index added 0.4% to 3,890.45.
In Seoul, the Kospi climbed 0.7% to 4,020.55. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 picked up 0.4% to 8,621.40.
Asia’s share gains were also built on optimism over more Fed rate cuts, after the U.S. on Thursday reported a lower-than-expected 2.7% rise in inflation for November, leaving potentially more room for the Fed to cut rates as the U.S. job market slows.
At midday in Europe, Germany’s DAX and the CAC 40 each edged 0.1% lower, while Britain’s FTSE 100 was unchanged.
In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 31 cents to $56.31 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 30 cents to $60.12 per barrel.
The price of bitcoin rose 3.9% to just less than $88,000, according to CoinDesk.
Source: AP
