World Shares Mostly Advance Thursday   09/17 04:53

   World shares mostly advanced on Thursday despite Wall Street closed lower 
following the Federal Reserve's interest rate hike decision for the first time 
in three years.

   HONG KONG (AP) -- World shares mostly advanced on Thursday despite Wall 
Street closed lower following the Federal Reserve's interest rate hike decision 
for the first time in three years.

   The quarter of a percentage point increase brings the Fed's key rate to a 
target range of 3.75%-4.00%, as it attempts to control U.S. inflation that's 
been stubbornly above its target.

   U.S. futures were higher. The futures for the S&P 500 climbed 0.8%, while 
that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7%.

   In early European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.5% to 10,739.72. 
France's CAC 40 advanced 0.3% to 8,163.52, while Germany's DAX climbed 0.6% to 
25,694.84.

   In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.3% at 64,136.25. South Korea's 
Kospi edged down less than 0.1% to 6,715.41. The Hong Kong Hang Seng fell 0.4% 
to 24,604.29, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.4% to 3,875.60.

   Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.4% to 8,732.40.

   Taiwan's Taiex jumped 1%, while India's Sensex edged up 0.1%.

   On Wednesday, Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 dropped 0.5%. The Dow Jones 
Industrial Average fell 1.2%, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite was 
mostly unchanged.

   Market reactions were "pretty much expected since the rate rise was also in 
line with market expectation," said Lorraine Tan, director of equity research 
for Asia at Morningstar on Thursday, adding that the ongoing Iran war is likely 
to keep pressure on inflation.

   Following the Fed's announcements, the two-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to 
4.71% early Thursday compared to around 4.67% late Tuesday. The yield on the 
10-year Treasury remained at near 5.00% at an elevated level.

   Government bond yields have remained higher since the war as the war-driven 
energy shock adds to inflationary pressure while investors also worry about 
growing U.S. national debt.

   The U.S. dollar fell early Thursday to 155.62 Japanese yen from 156.26 yen. 
The euro was trading at $1.1474, up from $1.1465.

   Oil prices fell. There are still limited oil flows in the Strait of Hormuz, 
the narrow waterway crucial for global oil transport, and as Saudi Arabia's 
closure of a key oil pipeline adds to oil supply pressure as it moves to repair 
the pipeline.

   Brent crude, the international standard, traded 1.2% lower at $104.60 a 
barrel early Thursday, but still well above the around $72 per barrel in late 
February before the war.