BANGKOK (AP) — Shares slipped in Tokyo and Shanghai on Wednesday, two of only a handful of world markets open on Christmas day.
Oil prices rose.
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Lights marking the entrance to a subway station frame the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person runs in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
People walk in front of Tokyo Stock Exchange building Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Japan's Nikkei 225 index edged 0.1% lower to 38,997.02, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.2% to 3,387.41.
Thursday will bring a weekly update on U.S. unemployment benefits.
Also early Wednesday, U.S. 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 dollar 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% gain, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9%. The Nasdaq composite climbed 1.3%.
Advancers outnumbered decliners by more than 3-to-1 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Broadcom rose 3.2%, Apple gained 1.1% and Amazon closed 1.8% higher. Super Micro Computer climbed 6%.
Tesla jumped 7.4% for the biggest gains among S&P 500 stocks.
American Airlines shook off an early loss and ended with a 0.6% gain after the airline briefly grounded flights nationwide due to a technical issue.
Elsewhere in the market, U.S. Steel rose 1.9% 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.
NeueHealth surged 74.9% after the health care company agreed to be taken private in a deal valued at roughly $1.3 billion.
Tuesday’s U.S. market “Santa rally” comes as the stock market enters what’s historically been a very cheerful season. The last five trading days of each year, plus the first two in the new year, have brought an average gain of 1.3% since 1950.
So far this month, the U.S. stock market has lost some of its gains since President-elect Donald Trump’s win on Election Day, which raised hopes for faster economic growth and more lax regulations that would boost corporate profits. Worries have risen that Trump’s preference for tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation, a bigger U.S. government debt and difficulties for global trade.
Even so, the U.S. market remains on pace to deliver strong returns for 2024. The benchmark S&P 500 is up 26.6% so far this year and remains within roughly 1% of the all-time high it set earlier this month — its latest of 57 record highs this year.
Lights marking the entrance to a subway station frame the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person runs in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
People walk in front of Tokyo Stock Exchange building Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
JERUSALEM (AP) — A baby girl froze to death overnight in Gaza, while Israel and Hamas accused each other of complicating ceasefire efforts that could wind down the 14-month war.
The 3-week old baby was the third to die from the cold in Gaza's tent camps in recent days, said doctors. The deaths underscore the squalid conditions, with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians crammed into often ramshackle tents after fleeing Israeli bombardment and offensives.
Israel’s bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza have killed over 45,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count.
The offensive has caused widespread destruction and displaced some 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands are packed into tent camps along the coast as the cold, wet winter sets in. Aid groups have struggled to deliver food and supplies and say there are shortages of blankets, warm clothing and wood for fires.
Israel has increased the amount of aid it allows into the territory, reaching an average of 130 trucks a day so far this month, up from around 70 a day in October and November. Still, the amount remains well below than previous months and the U.N. says it is unable to distribute more than half the aid because Israeli forces deny permission to move within Gaza or because of rampant lawlessness and theft from trucks.
The father of 3-week-old Sila Mahmoud al-Faseeh wrapped her in a blanket to try and keep her warm in their tent in the Muwasi area outside Khan Younis, but it wasn't enough, he told The Associated Press. Mahmoud al-Faseeh, said the tent was not sealed from the wind and the ground was cold, as temperatures Tuesday night dropped to 9 degrees Celsius (48 degrees Fahrenheit.) Muwasi is a desolate area of dunes and farmland on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast.
“It was very cold overnight and as adults we couldn’t even take it. We couldn’t stay warm,” he said. Sila woke up crying three times overnight and in the morning they found her unresponsive, her body stiff, he said.
“She was like wood,” said al-Faseeh. They rushed her to a field hospital where doctors tried to revive her, but her lungs had already deteriorated. Images of Sila taken by the AP showed the little girl with purple lips, her pale skin blotchy.
Ahmed al-Farra, director of the children’s ward at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, confirmed that the baby died of hypothermia. He said two other babies – one 3 days old, the other a month old – had been brought to the hospital over the past 48 hours after dying of hypothermia.
Meanwhile hopes of a ceasefire looked complicated Wednesday with Israel and Hamas trading accusations of delaying an agreement.
In recent weeks, the two sides appeared to be inching toward a deal that would bring home dozens of hostages being held in Gaza, but differences have emerged.
Although Israel and Hamas have expressed optimism that progress was being made toward a deal, sticking points remain over the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, people involved in the talks say.
On Wednesday, Hamas accused Israel of introducing new conditions related to the withdrawal from Gaza, the prisoners and the return of displaced people, which it said was delaying the deal.
Israel's government accused Hamas of reneging on reneging on understandings that have already been reached.” Still, both sides said discussions are ongoing.
Israel’s negotiating team, which includes members from its intelligence agencies and the military, returned from Qatar Tuesday evening for internal consultations, following a week of what it called “significant negotiations."
During its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, Hamas and other groups took about 250 people hostages and brought them to Gaza. A previous truce in November 2023 freed more than 100 hostages, while others have been rescued or their remains have been recovered over the past year.
Israel says about 100 hostages remain in Gaza — at least a third of whom it believes were killed during the Oct. 7 attack or died in captivity.
Sporadic talks have taken place for a year, but in recent weeks there's been a renewed push to reach a deal.
President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next month for his second term, has demanded the immediate release of Israeli hostages, saying on social media that if they're not freed before he is sworn in, there will be “HELL TO PAY.”
Families of the hostages are becoming increasingly angry, calling on the Israeli government for a ceasefire before Trump is sworn in.
After Israel’s high-level negotiation team returned from Doha this week, hostage families called an emergency press conference in Tel Aviv, pleading for a ceasefire and a complete end to the war.
Shir Siegel, the daughter of Israeli-American Keith Siegel, whose mother was released after more than 50 days in captivity, said every delay could endanger their lives. “There are moments when every second is fateful, and this is one of those moments,” she said.
The agreement would take effect in phases and include a halt in fighting, an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and a surge in aid to the besieged Gaza Strip, according to Egyptian, Hamas and American officials. The last phase would include the release of any remaining hostages, an end to the war and talks on reconstruction.
Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv and Khaled from Cairo, Egypt. Melanie Lidman also contributed from Tel Aviv and Lee Keith from Cairo.
Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Bodies of victims of an Israeli strike on a home in Deir al-Balah late Saturday are prepared for the funeral outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. At least eight people were killed according to the hospital which received the bodies.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians look at home destroyed by an Israeli strike late Saturday in Deir al-Balah Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. At least eight people were killed according to the hospital which received the bodies.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Relatives and neighbors, two of them holding guns, walk during the funeral procession of a victim of an Israeli strike on a home late Saturday that killed at least eight people, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. Some families in Gaza are armed to protect their homes from thieves in the camps.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Neighbours watch the funeral procession of the victims of an Israeli strike on a home late Saturday, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. At least eight people were killed according to the hospital which received the bodies.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Relatives and neighbours mourn over the body of one of the victims of an Israeli strike on a hom4 late Saturday as they are prepared for the funeral outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. At least eight people were killed according to the hospital which received the bodies.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians look at home destroyed by an Israeli strike late Saturday in Deir al-Balah Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. At least eight people were killed according to the hospital which received the bodies.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians pray over the bodies of the victims of an Israeli strike on a home late Saturday before the funeral outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. At least eight people were killed according to the hospital which received the bodies.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
