Stock market today: World shares are mostly higher after Big Tech losses pull Wall St lower

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares opened higher in Europe on Thursday after a mixed session in Asia following a Big Tech-led retreat on Wall Street.

Germany's DAX advanced 0.7% to 19,394.41 while the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.6% to 7,185.13. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 8,290.37.

The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% higher.

In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.6% to 38,349.06 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.5% to 8,444.30.

South Korea's Kospi gained less than 0.1% to 2,504.67 after the central bank cut its benchmark interest rate to relieve pressure on its slowing economy.

The Bank of Korea cut its key rate by a quarter percentage point to 3% and lowered its outlook for the country’s economic growth from to 2.2% from 2.4% for this year and to 1.9% from 2.1% for 2025.

Chinese shares fell as investors sold to lock in profits from recent gains.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 1.2% to 19,366.96 and the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.4% to 3,295.70.

U.S. markets will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving, and will reopen for a half day on Friday.

Russia's ruble fell sharply against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday and was trading near its lowest level since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, at 108.01 early Thursday, according to the Russian central bank.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.4% and the Dow fell 0.3%. The Nasdaq composite, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, fell 0.6%.

The Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy expanded at a healthy 2.8% annual pace from July through September, leaving its initial estimate unchanged. The growth was driven by strong consumer spending and a surge in exports.

Consumers have been driving economic growth, but the latest round of earnings reports from retailers shows a mixed and more cautious picture.

Department store operator Nordstrom fell 8.1% after warning investors about a trend toward weakening sales that started in late October. Clothing retailer Urban Outfitters jumped 18.3% after beating analysts’ third-quarter financial forecasts.

Consumers are feeling the pinch of higher prices: The government's personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE, rose to 2.3% in October from 2.1% in September.

Overall, inflation has been falling broadly since it peaked more than two years ago. The PCE, which is the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, was just below 7.3% in June of 2022. Another measure of inflation, the consumer price index, peaked at 9.1% at the same time.

The latest data suggest the decline in inflation is stalling as it nears the Fed's target of 2%. The central bank started raising its benchmark interest rate from near-zero in early 2022 to a two-decade high by the middle of 2023 and held it there until it began cutting it in September. A second cut followed in November.

Wall Street expects a similar quarter-point cut at the central bank's upcoming meeting in December, but President-elect Donald Trump has said he plans to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China when he takes office in January. That could raise prices on many products, raising inflation and prompting the Fed to rethink future cuts to interest rates.

In other dealings early Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 28 cents to $68.44 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, shed 26 cents to $72.04 per barrel.

The dollar rose to 151.90 Japanese yen from 151.12 yen. The euro fell to $1.0547 from $1.0567.

A sign marking the intersection of Wall Street and South Street is shown in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Nov. 26 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

People walk past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index at a securities firm, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

A man walks past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index at a securities firm, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

People walk past an electronic stock board showing Japan's stock prices Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 in Tokyo.(AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus could apply to become a member of NATO once its armed forces receive the necessary training and equipment with U.S. help to bring them up to the standards of the world's premier military alliance, the president of the Mediterranean island nation said Thursday.

President Nikos Christodoulides put Cyprus on a trajectory for possible NATO membership, ending weeks of media speculation about his government's intentions following his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington last month. The development goes against Cyprus' long-held policy of neutrality harking back to the Cold War era, when it walked a political tightrope between Washington and Moscow.

Christodoulides said although Cyprus can't join NATO at this time because of objections that Turkey would raise to its potential membership, the Cypriot National Guard shouldn't be denied the opportunity to upgrade its defensive capabilities with U.S. assistance.

Turkey, which maintains more than 35,000 troops in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot northern part of ethnically divided Cyprus, doesn’t recognize the island’s government, which is based in the Greek Cypriot southern part.

Christodoulides didn't elaborate on how Turkish objections could be sidestepped. But the U.N. is currently working to prepare for a resumption of peace talks between the rival sides in Cyprus, which was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup by supporters of uniting the island with Greece.

“And because we don't want the National Guard to lose such opportunities, we're in talks with the U.S. -- and we thank them for their positive response -- on how the Cyprus Republic can make the best use of these opportunities, so when everything is in its place, the Cyprus Republic can become a member state of NATO,” Christodoulides told The Associated Press.

“The strengthening of the Cyprus Republic's deterrent capabilities is of the utmost importance, and we take advantage of every opportunity, both in the direction of the United States and NATO, but also the European Union.”

Christodoulides said Cyprus' geographic location -- it's the closest EU member state to the Middle East at just 182 kilometers (114 miles) from the Lebanese capital, Beirut -- has given impetus to planned upgrades to its military infrastructure. He said the government is currently in talks with the U.S. for upgrades to a key air base and with the EU for a naval base.

Following his meeting with Biden, Christodoulides told the AP of his government's commitment to expanding defense and security cooperation with the U.S.

Cyprus' Andreas Papandreou air base on its southwestern edge is currently hosting a U.S. Marine contingent and a number of V-22 Osprey tiltrotor military transport and cargo aircraft prepositioned to assist in potential evacuations from nearby Lebanon and elsewhere.

FILE - A police officer holds a Cyprus' flag as two soldiers salute during a ceremony before a military parade marking the 63th anniversary of Cyprus' independence from British colonial rule, in divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias, File)

FILE - Cyprus' soldiers on a military vehicle pass during a military parade marking the 63th anniversary of Cyprus' independence from British colonial rule, in divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Sunday, Oct. 1 2023. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias, File)

FILE - A Cyprus' military helicopter flies over a military parade marking the 63th anniversary of Cyprus' independence from British colonial rule, in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias, File)