
Asian shares slip as sharp drops for AI stocks overwhelm markets worldwide and oil prices jump
By Marcus Chen
WPLG Local 10
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World shares were mixed on Friday while oil prices hovered at their highest levels since May on worries about the war with Iran.Brent crude, the international standard, gained 0.8% to $114.02 per barrel. U.S. benchmark crude oil added 1.1% to $100.60 per barrel.In early European trading, Germany's DAX lost 0.4%, while the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.6% to 7,765.74. Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.4% to 10,685.86.Some Asian markets bounced back from early losses.In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 0.3% to 62,693.16, while the Kospi in South Korea recovered from an early retreat, gaining 0.3% to close at 5,550.30.Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.7% to 23,093.37 and the Shanghai Composite index added 0.9% to 3,690.48.In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was nearly unchanged at 8,795.20.On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 1.2% for its worst day since July, while the Nasdaq composite tumbled 2.6%. Weakness for tech stocks was so overwhelming that it masked strength for the rest of the U.S. market, where the majori