Financial-Markets                      12/26 09:02

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks are off to a mixed start on Wall Street as traders 
return from the Christmas holiday. The S&P 500 edged up 0.1% in the early going 
Friday. The index is holding on to a modest gain for the week. The Dow Jones 
Industrial Average was little changed, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%, 
helped by gains in several Big Tech stocks like Nvidia. Crude oil fell, while 
gold and silver continued to rise. Trading was expected to be light at the end 
of the holiday-shortened week. European markets were mostly closed, as were 
several Asian markets. Japan's Nikkei climbed 0.7%.

   THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below.

   BANGKOK (AP) -- U.S. futures edged lower and Asian shares were mixed Friday, 
with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 leading gains.

   The prices of gold and silver surged to records, extending their sharp gains 
for the year as investors including central banks have stocked up on the 
precious metals, which are viewed as safe havens in times of uncertainty.

   The price of gold gained 0.9% to 4,541.80 a troy ounce, while silver jumped 
4.5% to $74.90 per ounce, at one point exceeding $75 a ounce.

   Earlier surges in gold prices partly reflected worries during the weeks long 
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 also fueled buying of gold.

   "Gold is doing what gold does when the world loses its anchor: it becomes 
the anchor," Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a recent report. 
"For centuries, gold has been the one asset that doesn't blink. When politics 
goes sideways, when currencies fray, when inflation eats the furniture, gold is 
the one piece of collateral the world still treats as final."

   In share trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 advanced 0.7% to 50,750.39 after the 
Cabinet approved a record defense budget plan exceeding 9 trillion yen ($58 
billion) for the coming fiscal year. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government 
aims to fortify Japan's strike-back capability and coastal defenses with cruise 
missiles and unmanned arsenals at a time of aggravated tensions with China.

   Heavy industries and high-tech companies led the advance.

   The dollar rose to 156.25 Japanese yen from 155.83 yen. The euro fell to 
$1.1777 from $1.1785.

   Markets in mainland China advanced, with the Shanghai Composite index 
gaining 0.1% to 3,963.68.

   South Korea's Kospi picked up 0.5% to 4,129.68, while Taiwan's Taiex jumped 
0.7%.

   Shares fell in Thailand and India.

   Elsewhere the region, markets in Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and 
Indonesia were closed. Most European markets will remain closed Friday, while 
Wall Street will reopen to a full day of trading after the Christmas holidays. 
Volumes will likely remain light since most investors have closed out their 
positions for the year.

   In other dealings early Friday, U.S. crude oil gained 18 cents to $58.53 a 
barrel and Brent crude added 15 cents to $61.95 a barrel.

   Oil prices have fallen recently after spiking near $70 a barrel in June.

   The price of bitcoin rose 2.2% to $89,705.

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