World Shares Mixed on Nvidia Earnings  02/26 04:51

   U.S. futures fell while global shares were mixed on Thursday after 
strong-than-expected earnings from chipmaker Nvidia helped ease some investor 
worries over the artificial intelligence boom.

   HONG KONG (AP) -- U.S. futures fell while global shares were mixed on 
Thursday after strong-than-expected earnings from chipmaker Nvidia helped ease 
some investor worries over the artificial intelligence boom.

   In early European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.2% to 10,824.90. 
France's CAC 40 rose 0.4% to 8,593.83, while Germany's DAX down 0.2% to 
25,133.39.

   The future for the S&P 500 fell 0.1%, while that for the Dow Jones 
Industrial Average was down 0.2%.

   Asian shares mostly advanced. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 crossed the 59,000 mark for 
the first time, although it later gave up some gains, rising 0.3% to 58,753.39. 
Shares of SoftBank Group, which has a focus on AI technology, rose 4%.

   Share prices also pushed higher after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi 
appointed two economists viewed as favoring keeping interest rates low to the 
board of the central bank. The Bank of Japan has been gradually raising rates 
from near zero.

   South Korea's Kospi surged 3.7% to 6,307.27, driven by gains for 
tech-related stocks. The index surpassed the 6,000 level for the first time on 
Wednesday. It has gained 46% since the beginning of this year after enduring a 
year of political upheavals that ended with former President Yoon Suk Yeol 
being sentenced to life in prison.

   Shares of Samsung Electronics, the country's biggest listed company, jumped 
7.1%. Chipmaker SK Hynix gained 8%.

   Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.4% to 26,381.02. The Shanghai Composite index 
barely budged, closing at 4,146.63.

   In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5% to 9,175.30.

   Taiwan's Taiex was flat, while India's Sensex traded 0.1% higher.

   Nvidia's earnings influence global financial markets both because it is the 
world's most valuable company and the biggest S&P 500 constituent and because 
it is benefiting from advances in AI-related technologies.

   Its latest quarterly revenue jumped 73% from a year earlier to $68 billion. 
The California-based company also gave a forecast of $78 billion for revenue in 
the current quarter, which exceeded analysts' expectations.

   Its CEO, Jensen Huang, said demand for Nvidia chips is still "skyrocketing."

   "AI is here, AI is not going to go back," Huang said during a conference 
call.

   Nvidia rose 0.2% in afterhours trading following its earnings announcement, 
which came after markets closed on Wednesday.

   Its robust earnings helped alleviate some concerns over whether the AI craze 
is real and whether huge investments will pay off. But many investors remain 
cautious.

   Thomas Mathews, head of markets for Asia Pacific at Capital Economics, 
however argued in a research note on Thursday that "strong profit growth, as 
emphasized by recent earnings reports", including Nvidia's, is a key reason to 
think the S&P 500 will do well in 2026. He forecast the S&P 500 at 8,000 by the 
year's end.

   On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.8% and the Dow industrials climbed 0.6%. 
The Nasdaq composite gained 1.3%.

   In other dealings early Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil shed 53 cents to 
$64.89 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 44 cents to 
$70.25 a barrel.

   Gold and silver prices fell on Thursday. The price of gold lost 0.5% and the 
price of silver fell 4.1%.

   The U.S. dollar fell to 156.09 Japanese yen from 156.39 yen. The euro fell 
to $1.1800 from $1.1812.