Kagiyama and Sakamoto lead Japanese sweep of men’s and women's short programs at NHK Trophy

TOKYO (AP) — Defending champion Yuma Kagiyama performed a near-flawless routine on Friday to lead a Japanese sweep of the men’s figure skating short program at the NHK Trophy.

Skating to “The Sound of Silence,” Kagiyama nailed an effortless quadruple salchow on his opening jump and followed with a quad toeloop-triple toeloop combination.

The 2022 Olympic silver medalist added a triple axel to finish with a season-best 105.70 points.

“I was trying to equal the score I had at the Olympics but was three points short,” the three-time world silver medalist said. “Today’s performance, from beginning to end, went just as planned.”

Kagiyama’s compatriot Kao Miura was second with a personal-best 102.96 points while Tatsuya Tsuboi completed a sweep of the top three places for the host nation with 85.02.

“All three skaters did what they needed to do today,” Kagiyama said. “Tatsuya had great flow and we were given great motivation. Kao was creating real momentum and I needed to do well.”

Andrew Torgashev of the United States was fourth with 84.36.

In the women’s short program, three-time and reigning world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan finished first with a season-best 78.93 points.

Sakamoto, who won gold at Skate Canada two weeks ago, opened with a double axel and also cleanly landed a triple lutz and triple flip-triple toeloop combination.

“I was very pleased with the lutz and it was highly evaluated,” Sakamoto said. “I was able to concentrate well throughout the entire routine.”

Like the men’s short program, the women’s top three was also swept by the host nation.

Mone Chiba was second with 71.69, followed by Yuna Aoki with 69.78.

Alysa Liu of the United States, who is making a comeback, was fourth with 65.03.

Liu started off with a triple flip-triple toeloop combination and landed a double axel and a triple lutz later in her routine.

Two-time world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States were first after the ice dance short program.

The U.S. champions, who were second at Skate America, collected level fours and threes for their elements for a season’s best score of 86.32 points.

“We made some really good strides since Skate America, specifically with this program,” Bates said. “We put a lot of effort into improving it and changed some of the music, some of the choreography, which can be challenging in the midst of the Grand Prix.”

Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko, also of the United States, were second with 79.64, followed by Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius of Lithuania with 77.91.

In pairs, skating to “Paint it Black,” world silver medalists Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan were first after the short program with 71.90 points.

Miura and Kihara completed a triple twist, throw triple lutz but Miura landed forward on a triple toe which was downgraded.

“There was a mistake we were able to recover from ... that was very good for us,” Miura said. “Our choreographer has changed and we thought we needed to create something new.”

Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia were second with 70.28, followed by Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea of the U.S. with 69.15.

The NHK Trophy is the fourth event in the ISU’s Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series.

A total of 60 skaters and couples are representing 16 countries in men’s women’s, pairs and ice dance competitions.

The next round of the GP Series is Nov. 15-17 at the Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki, Finland.

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Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea of the U.S. compete in the pairs short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia compete in the pairs short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan compete in the pairs short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius of Lithuania compete in the ice dance rhythm dance program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko of the U.S. compete in the ice dance rhythm dance program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. compete in the ice dance rhythm dance program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Yuna Aoki of Japan competes in the women's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Mone Chiba of Japan competes in the women's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Mone Chiba of Japan competes in the women's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Kaori Sakamoto of Japan competes in the women's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Kaori Sakamoto of Japan competes in the women's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Andrew Torgashev of the U.S. competes in the men's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Andrew Torgashev of the U.S. competes in the men's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Tatsuya Tsuboi of Japan competes in the men's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Kao Miura of Japan competes in the men's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Yuma Kagiyama of Japan reacts after competing in the men's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. compete in the ice dance rhythm dance program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Kaori Sakamoto of Japan competes in the women's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Yuma Kagiyama of Japan competes in the men's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Trading on Wall Street was somewhat subdued early Friday as markets coasted toward another week of big gains.

Futures for the S&P 500 were essentially unchanged, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up less than 0.1%.

Airbnb tumbled 6.1% after the online vacation rental platform posted a mixed third-quarter earnings report and issued guidance for the fourth quarter that disappointed investors.

Digital pinboard and shopping site Pinterest slid 13.7% after the company's revenue guidance came in lower than investors expected, even as it easily beat Wall Street's sales and profit targets.

Sports betting app DraftKings fell 4.6% after it lost more money than expected in its most recent quarter and lowered its forecast.

On the winning side was Upstart, which jumped more than 17% before the bell. The AI-driven lending platform, which helps banks analyze loan applications, posted a much smaller loss than expected on strong revenue.

Markets have been riding high this week, hitting more records after former President Donald Trump won re-election and the Federal Reserve cut its main lending rate for the second straight time.

The central bank began easing rates in September and indicated more cuts were likely to come, as it focuses more on keeping the job market humming after helping get inflation nearly down to its 2% target. What’s less certain in the minds of investors now is how much Trump’s victory may upset the Fed’s plans.

Trump is pushing for tariffs and other policies that economists say could drive inflation higher, along with the economy’s growth. Traders have already begun paring forecasts for how many cuts to rates the Fed will deliver next year because of that. While lower rates can boost the economy, they can also give inflation more fuel.

In Europe at midday, Germany’s DAX and Paris's CAC 40 each fell 0.6%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 retreated 0.5%.

Markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai fell as investors awaited much-anticipated steps by Beijing to rev up the slowing Chinese economy following a meeting of the legislature’s Standing Committee.

“If Beijing delivers, we might see a powerful rally ripple through the region as investors gear up for a fresh surge in market momentum,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

Officials announced a 6 trillion yuan ($839 billion), three-year plan to help local governments refinance their many trillions of debt that has ballooned during the COVID-19 pandemic and a collapse of the property market.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng erased early gains, falling 1.1% to 20,728.19. The Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.5% to 3,452.30.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.3% to 39,500.37.

Shares in Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Corp. plummeted 6% on Friday after the company on Thursday announced that it will dismiss 9,000 workers and slash its global production capacity by 20% due to falling sales and rising costs and inventory.

In South Korea, the Kospi shed 0.1% to 2,561.15, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.8% to 8,295.10.

In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost $1.22 to $71.14 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude, the international standard, gave up $1.06 to $74.57 per barrel.

The dollar fell to 152.49 Japanese yen from 152.94 yen. The euro slipped to $1.0768 from $1.0804.

For the week, the Dow and S&P 500 are both up around 4% as of Thursday's close, while the Nasdaq has gained more than 5%.

A pair of traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in New York, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell news conference in Washington is displayed on a monitor. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appear on a bank of screens on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A screen at a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays the Federal Reserve interest rate decision, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Tokyo Stock Price index at a securities firm Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)