Global shares were mixed in muted trading on Wednesday as optimism from a record rally on Wall Street gradually waned. France's CAC 40 edged up nearly 0.1%, while Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE 100 remained relatively unchanged. In the United States, Dow futures hovered around 39,471.00, and S&P 500 futures declined slightly.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 and South Korea's Kospi saw gains, but Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite also experienced slight declines.
The yen strengthened against the U.S. dollar, with focus on Japan's upcoming spring wage negotiations. Speculation suggests that Japan's central bank may end its super-easy monetary policy and start raising rates.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose slightly against the Japanese yen, while the euro inched up. Recent economic data in Japan and the U.S. has influenced market sentiment, with Japan's wage growth exceeding expectations and the U.S. Federal Reserve potentially considering rate cuts in June.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude and Brent crude both saw modest gains in prices.
