Asian Shares Mostly Lower

Bangkok: Shares slipped in Tokyo and Shanghai on Wednesday, two of only a handful of world markets open on Christmas day. Oil prices rose. Japan’s Nikkei-225 index edged 0.1 per cent lower to 38,997.02, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.2 per cent to 3,387.41. Thursday will bring a weekly update on US unemployment benefits. Also early Wednesday, US benchmark crude oil was up 93 cents at $70.17 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 6 cents to $73.23 per barrel. The $rose to 157.37 Japanese Yen from 157.11 Yen. The Euro rose to $1.0431 from $1.0397.

On Tuesday, stocks closed higher on Wall Street in a shortened holiday session. Gains in Big Tech stocks helped the S&P 500 to a 1.1 per cent gain, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9 per cent. The Nasdaq composite climbed 1.3 per cent. Advancers outnumbered decliners by more than 3-to-1 on the New York Stock Exchange. Broadcom rose 3.2 per cent, Apple gained 1.1 per cent and Amazon closed 1.8 per cent higher. Super Micro Computer climbed 6 per cent. Tesla jumped 7.4 per cent for the biggest gains among S&P 500 stocks. American Airlines shook off an early loss and ended with a 0.6 per cent gain after the airline briefly grounded flights nationwide due to a technical issue.

Elsewhere in the market, US Steel rose 1.9 per cent a day after an influential government panel failed to reach consensus on the possible national security risks of the nearly $15 billion proposed sale to Nippon Steel of Japan.