World shares advance after Japan raises its key interest rate to its highest level in 30 years
A person walks in front of a chart showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)2025-12-19T04:15:58Z
World shares advanced on Friday after the data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/japan-economy-rate-fed-markets-boj-cd9ce451cc63b2d6c6932adc3b138684">Bank of Japan raised its key policy rate to its highest level in 30 years and data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-consumer-prices-economy-trump-tariffs-e26c4b6ee05533fd6686555e125b2e53">U.S. inflation cooled more than expected.
Germany’s DAX gained 0.2% to 24,241.32, while the CAC 40 edged 0.1% higher to 8,156.83. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained less than 2 points to 9,838.83.
Friday’s 0.25 percentage point increase by the BOJ was widely expected. It took the benchmark rate to 0.75%, the highest since 1995, but still low compared with other major economies.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 1% to 49,507.21, leading the rise across Asia’s key markets.
Following the BOJ’s decision, Japan’s benchmark 10-year government bond yield surpassed the 2% mark for the first time since May 2006. The U.S. dollar rose to 157.08 Japanese yen from 155.53 yen.
Global investors had been bracing for reactions to the BOJ’s move, but markets appeared to take the decision in stride. The future for the S&P 500 rose 0.3%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1%.
“The Bank of Japan’s decision to raise interest rates at its meeting today was clearly signaled ahead of time and therefore came as no surprise,” Abhijit Surya of Capital Economics said in a report, noting that “financial markets had almost fully priced in a hike ahead of today’s meeting.”
Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng rose almost 0.8% to 25,690.53, while the Shanghai Composite index added 0.4% to 3,890.45.
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In Seoul, the Kospi climbed 0.7% to 4,020.55. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 picked up 0.4% to 8,621.40.
Asia’s share gains were also built on optimism over more Fed rate cuts, after the U.S. on Thursday reported a data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-consumer-prices-economy-trump-tariffs-e26c4b6ee05533fd6686555e125b2e53">lower-than-expected 2.7% rise in inflation for November, leaving potentially more room for the Fed to cut rates as the U.S. data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/jobs-economy-trump-unemployment-federal-reserve-cf1280a8466d92fbbc1b5ace7b80bffc">job market slows.
On Thursday, European indexes gained after the data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/bank-of-england-interest-rate-cut-december-23f4d7a993b30e0aef090a96b12e1b42">Bank of England cut its key interest rate and the data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/ecb-eurozone-economy-inflation-growth-lagarde-8f28abe4f22da1ccef4b75c1c2c32f91">European Central Bank kept its rate steady.
But Thursday’s U.S. inflation update may also not move the needle that much at the Fed given how noisy economic reports have been following the 43-day U.S. government’s shutdown. The inflation report was delayed eight days by the shutdown, which also prevented the Labor Department from compiling overall numbers for consumer prices and core inflation in October.
The next monthly update on inflation, for December, could provide a better gauge of what’s actually happening.
In the U.S. on Thursday, the S&P 500 edged up 0.8% data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/stocks-markets-rates-ai-jobs-oil-d6a0aeeb54fd06320cb22f80e32eaa5e">following a four-day losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1% and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.4%.
Technology stocks helped lift the U.S. stock market. Micron Technology, a key maker of memory chips, jumped 10.2% on stronger-than-expected profit and revenue for the latest quarter ending November as the company also delivered an upbeat forecast for upcoming revenue and profit.
But investor concerns over an overblown AI bubble are still clouding the prospects of some companies which benefited big from the AI boom. Broadcom and Oracle’s shares had fallen significantly since last week. Oracle’s shares rose 0.9% on Thursday, while Broadcom’s added 1.1%.
Nvidia, the chip company that’s become Wall Street’s most influential because of its immense size, gained 1.8%.
Another winner was Trump Media & Technology Group, which jumped 41.9% to trim some of its steep loss for the year so far, 69.3% coming into the day. The company, which began with President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform and then moved into cryptocurrencies and various other lines of business, is now moving into nuclear power.
It’s data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-media-fusion-power-company-devin-nunes-0ad9fe84447acf340a3fbf57e8dbd4fd">merging with TAE Technologies in an all-stock deal, and each company will own roughly half of the combined business.
In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 16 cents to $55.84 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 21 cents to $59.61 per barrel.
The euro slipped to $1.1715 from $1.1724.
The price of bitcoin rose 3.9% to about $88,000, according to CoinDesk.
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ELAINE KURTENBACH Based in Bangkok, Kurtenbach is the AP’s business editor for Asia, helping to improve and expand our coverage of regional economies, climate change and the transition toward carbon-free energy. She has been covering economic, social, environmental and political trends in China, Japan and Southeast Asia throughout her career.
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CHAN HO-HIM Chan covers China business, economy and finance for The Associated Press, reporting on key sectors from technology to trade. He is based in Hong Kong.
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World shares advance after Japan raises its key interest rate to its highest level in 30 years
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September 16, 2025, 06:04:15 AM