Global Shares Mostly Up on Japan Rally 02/10 04:49

   Global shares were mostly higher Tuesday as Japan's benchmark set another 
record after a historic election win for the nation's first female prime 
minister.

   TOKYO (AP) -- Global shares were mostly higher Tuesday as Japan's benchmark 
set another record after a historic election win for the nation's first female 
prime minister.

   France's CAC 40 edged up 0.2% in early trading to 8,342.16, while Germany's 
DAX lost nearly 0.2% to 24,977.44. Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.5% to 
10,339.55. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 
were up less than 0.1%.

   In Asian trading, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 2.3% to finish at 
57,650.54, a record close. It jumped 3.9% to a record Monday after the 
landslide victory for Sanae Takaichi's political party in Sunday's 
parliamentary election. Takaichi is expected to push through reforms intended 
to boost the economy and stock market.

   "Japan's fiscal stance could loosen further because the LDP's supermajority 
will enable the new government to implement policies with few obstacles," Fitch 
Ratings said in a report following the election, referring to Takaichi's 
Liberal Democratic Party.

   "Policy choices under the new government are likely to focus on tax relief 
and growth-oriented investment spending, reflecting voter concerns over higher 
inflation and low income growth," it said.

   Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 0.6% to 27,183.15, while the Shanghai Composite 
added 0.1% to 4,128.37.

   Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined less than 0.1% to 8,867.40. South Korea's 
Kospi gained less than 0.1% to 5,301.69.

   On Monday, the S&P 500 gained 0.5% and the Dow edged up less than 0.1%. The 
Nasdaq gained 0.9%.

   The U.S. government will offer the latest monthly update on the health of 
the job market on Wednesday. Friday will bring the latest monthly reading of 
inflation at the consumer level.

   Either report could sway expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do 
with interest rates. The Fed has put its cuts to interest rates on hold, but a 
weakening of the job market could push it to resume more quickly.

   Too-hot inflation could keep it on hold for longer. One of the reasons the 
U.S. stock market remains close to records is the expectation that the Fed will 
continue cutting interest rates.

   In other dealings early Tuesday, benchmark U.S. crude added 5 cents to 
$64.41 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, advanced 22 cents to 
$69.26 a barrel.

   The U.S. dollar edged down to 155.55 Japanese yen from 155.88 yen. The euro 
cost $1.1902, down from $1.1918.