World Shares Mostly Lower Mon 12/29 06:54

   Shares in Europe and Asia were mostly lower in thin holiday trading as China 
staged military exercises near the island of Taiwan.

   BANGKOK (AP) -- Shares in Europe and Asia were mostly lower in thin holiday 
trading as China staged military exercises near the island of Taiwan.

   The prices of gold and silver fell back after recent gains, while oil prices 
jumped more than $1. U.S. futures were little changed.

   Shares in Taiwan were higher even after China's military said it was 
conducting the drills around the self-governed island that Beijing claims as 
its territory.

   In early European trading, Germany's DAX slipped 0.2% to 24,296.81, while 
the CAC 40 in Paris was nearly unchanged at 8,100.83. Britain's FTSE 100 
likewise barely budged, at 9,874.80.

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

   China said its combined forces drills were intended to warn against what it 
called separatist and "external interference" forces. Taiwan placed its 
military on alert and called the Beijing government "the biggest destroyer of 
peace."

   The drills came after Beijing expressed anger at U.S. arms sales to the 
territory. That followed a comment by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi 
that Japan's defense forces could get involved if China were to take action 
against Taiwan. The Chinese statement did not mention the United States and 
Japan.

   Taiwan's benchmark Taiex gained 0.9%, but the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gave up 
early gains, falling 0.7% to 25,635.23. The Shanghai Composite index was 
virtually unchanged at 3,965.28.

   Tokyo's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4% to 50,526.92.

   In South Korea, the Kospi jumped 2.2% to 4,220.56, less than 2 points off 
its all-time record reached in early November. A 6.8% jump for SK Hynix due to 
a regulatory change that lifted an investment warning for its stock helped 
boost the benchmark. Samsung Electronics advanced 2.1%.

   Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gave up 0.4% to 8,725.70.

   The price of gold fell 1.3% to $4,494 per troy ounce, while silver slipped 
2.3% to $75.40. It has jumped to record levels on supply constraints, as both 
precious metals have been favored by investors seeking safe havens outside of 
stocks and bonds.

   Earlier surges in gold prices also partly reflected worries during the U.S. 
government shutdown. Expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut 
interest rates further in the new year, weakening the dollar against other 
currencies, have further fueled buying of gold.

   Silver, which like gold is used in many industries, has been influenced by 
other factors, too. China, which refines about two-thirds of global supplies, 
has scrapped an export quota system, replacing it with an export licensing 
system effective Jan. 1.

   "Scarcity is no longer theoretical," Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management 
said in a report. "China sits at the center of global silver refining, and when 
the world's top refiner starts tightening the valve, downstream users feel it 
immediately."

   Reopening Friday from the Christmas holiday, the S&P 500 index fell less 
than 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell less than 0.1%. The 
Nasdaq composite fell 0.1%.

   With three trading days left in 2025, the S&P 500 has climbed nearly 18% 
this year, helped by the deregulatory policies of the Trump administration and 
investor optimism about the future of artificial intelligence.

   Trading has been light, with institutional investors largely closed out for 
the year.

   In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained $1.13 to 
$57.87 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, advanced 
$1.13 to $61.37 per barrel. On Friday, U.S. crude oil fell 2.8% and Brent crude 
fell 2.6%.

   The U.S. dollar fell to 156.30 Japanese yen from 156.56 yen. The euro rose 
to $1.1779 from $1.1770.