World Shares Mixed on May Day          05/01 04:47

   World shares were mixed and U.S. futures edged higher Friday, with most 
markets closed for May Day holidays.

   (AP) -- World shares were mixed and U.S. futures edged higher Friday, with 
most markets closed for May Day holidays.

   Brent crude's price rose 83 cents to $111.23 per barrel while U.S. benchmark 
crude added 12 cents to $105.19 a barrel.

   Prospects for a deal to cement a three-week ceasefire in the Iran wa r 
remained clouded as Iran's supreme leader said it will protect its nuclear and 
missile capabilities as a national asset.

   The war's shocks to oil supplies and prices are putting pressure on U.S. 
President Donald Trump, who was floating a new plan to reopen the Strait of 
Hormuz, a critical passageway for oil and gas exports from the Middle East.

   Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.6% to 10,319.24. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 
0.7% to 59,678.31 as the Japanese yen gained against the U.S. dollar. In 
Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 surged 0.9% to 8,743.70.

   Most other share markets were closed.

   The dollar bought 156.56 Japanese yen, down from 156.61 yen late Thursday. 
But that was well below the above 160 yen level it hit on Thursday. Japanese 
officials had warned they would intervene in the market if the yen fell 
further, and then reportedly acted on those warnings.

   The euro rose to $1.1733 from $1.1731.

   The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Averaged edged 0.1% 
higher after U.S stocks motored to more records Thursday on strong profits for 
Alphabet, Caterpillar and other big businesses.

   The S&P 500 rallied 1% and topped its prior all-time high to close out its 
best month in more than five years. It closed at 7,209.01. The Dow leaped 1.6% 
to 49,652.14, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.9% to a record of 24,892.31.

   Alphabet led the way and rallied 10% after the owner of Google and YouTube 
reported profit for the latest quarter that almost doubled analysts' 
expectations. Investments in artificial intelligence "are lighting up every 
part of the business," its CEO Sundar Pichai said.

   It's the latest company to deliver fatter profits for the start of 2026 than 
analysts expected, even with very high oil prices and uncertainty about the 
economy.

   In share trading, Meta Platforms tumbled 8.7% even though the company behind 
Facebook and Instagram made more profit last quarter than expected. Investors 
focused more on its increased forecast for how much it will spend on data 
centers and other investments as it builds out its AI capabilities.

   Doubts are still high among some investors about whether all the spending on 
AI will produce enough profit and productivity to make it worth it.

   Microsoft fell 3.9% after likewise raising its forecast for investments and 
other capital spending.

   Reports suggested the U.S. economy grew at a slower pace in January to March 
than economists had expected, while a measure of inflation worsened in March.

   A separate report said that fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment 
benefits last week in an indication of fewer layoffs even though companies are 
announcing large cuts to workforces.

   Friday brought some calm to the oil market, after prices surged Thursday on 
worries over the potential long-term impact of the war on the flow of crude.

   Traders are buying and selling contracts for different kinds of oil, going 
out for many months. In the most actively traded part of the market for Brent 
crude, for delivery in July, the price rose as high as $114.70 per barrel, fell 
back toward $107 and settled at $110.40 on Thursday, nearly unchanged from the 
day before.

   So far during the war, the peak price for the most actively traded Brent 
contract has been $119.50, which was set last month.

   In a less actively traded corner of the Brent market, the price for a barrel 
to be delivered in June briefly went above $126 early Thursday before pulling 
back toward $114.

   Brent's price was roughly $70 before the war.