Global Stocks Mixed After Microsoft Gains

TOKYO (AP) --- Global shares traded mixed Tuesday after a rally on Wall Street that was led by gains in Microsoft following its announcement that it was hiring Sam Altman, former CEO of OpenAI, the ChatGPT maker.

U.S. futures were lower, while oil prices fell.

France's CAC 40 lost 0.1% in early trading to 7,238.89, while Germany's DAX rose 0.2% to 15,936.25. Britain's FTSE 100 declined nearly 0.2% to 7,483.15. U.S. shares were set to drift lower with Dow futures down nearly 0.1% at 35,195.00. S&P 500 futures fell nearly 0.1% to 4,559.00.

Chinese markets were initially lifted by a report in the financial magazine Caixin that regulators had drafted a list of property developers that will be able to tap low-cost financing. The moves to facilitate more lending come as the real estate industry remains mired in a crisis brought on by a crackdown on excessive borrowing and worsened by a broad economic slowdown.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng erased earlier gains and slipped 0.3% to 17,733.89, while the Shanghai Composite inched down less than 0.1% to 3,067.93.

"Hopes continue to build that China's unabating and deepening property slump ... will catch a break, if not stage a turnaround; in particular, as Beijing steps up stimulus efforts to backstop the downward spiral in the wider housing eco-system," Tan Boon Heng of Mizuho Bank said in a commentary.

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 edged down 0.1% to finish at 33,354.14. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% to 7,078.20 and South Korea's Kospi gained 0.8% to 2,510.42.

Microsoft was the strongest force buoying Wall Street overnight, rising 2.1% after saying it was hiring Sam Altman for a new venture following his sudden dismissal as CEO of OpenAI. Microsoft said it will also continue its partnership with OpenAI, as fervor around artificial-intelligence technology and the huge profits it's expected to create wow Wall Street.

Investors are convinced that inflation is cooling enough for the Federal Reserve to finally be done with its market-crunching hikes to interest rates. Traders also are moving up their expectations for when the Fed could actually begin cutting interest rates.

The Thanksgiving holiday means the U.S. government will release its weekly update on jobless claims on Wednesday instead of the usual Thursday. Other than that, the release of the minutes from the Fed's latest policy meeting on Tuesday and preliminary reports on U.S. business activity on Friday are among the highlights.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell 31 cents to $77.52 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It added $1.79 on Monday. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 36 cents to $81.96 per barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar inched down to 147.45 Japanese yen from 148.37 yen. The euro cost $1.0957, up from $1.0941.