World Shares Mixed, Oil Prices Slip    07/09 05:02

   World shares were mixed and oil prices slipped on Thursday as conflict 
escalated in the Middle East, with Iran and the U.S. launching fresh attacks.

   HONG KONG (AP) -- World shares were mixed and oil prices slipped on Thursday 
as conflict escalated in the Middle East, with Iran and the U.S. launching 
fresh attacks.

   U.S. futures were little changed.

   The United States launched more airstrikes on Iran, and Iran responded by 
firing at Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump 
said their temporary ceasefire was "over." The prospects for a lasting peace 
remained uncertain, with high-level talks seeking to salvage an interim 
agreement on ending the war still underway, according to a regional 
intelligence official involved in the mediation efforts who spoke on condition 
of anonymity to discuss the delicate behind-the-scenes negotiations.

   In early European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.6% to 10,422.75. 
France's CAC 40 was up 0.3% to 8,280.05, while Germany's DAX traded 0.3% higher 
at 24,963.05.

   Tokyo's Nikkei 225 reversed some of its losses from earlier in the week, 
gaining 1.4% to 67,743.85. Chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron jumped 5.5%, and 
artificial intelligence-focused investment holding firm SoftBank Group slipped 
0.1%.

   South Korea's Kospi index zigzagged and ended 0.6% higher at 7,291.91 
despite falling earlier in the day. Samsung Electronics was up 0.2% on 
Thursday, while memory chipmaker SK Hynix gained 5.3%.

   The Shanghai Composite index traded 1.7% higher at 4,036.59, even as China's 
producer price index rose 4.1% in June compared to a year earlier. That was 
higher than May's 3.9%, as some economists attribute higher inflation to 
impacts from the Iran war.

   Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.7% to 24,030.18. Shares of Apple supplier 
Luxshare fell 1.6% in its trading debut in Hong Kong. Chinese AI company Zhipu, 
or Z.ai, surged 11.3% after it said it's raising about $4 billion through a 
share sale.

   Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.3% to 8,762.50.

   Taiwan's Taiex fell 0.8%, and India's Sensex climbed 0.6%.

   Oil prices fell back early Thursday, with Brent crude, the international 
standard, falling 0.4% to $77.69 per barrel. It briefly topped $80 on 
Wednesday. Before the Iran war began, Brent oil was trading at around $72 a 
barrel. Earlier optimism over an interim peace deal recently brought it back to 
prewar levels.

   Benchmark U.S. crude also declined 0.4%, to $73.21 a barrel.

   On Wednesday, Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 ended 0.3% and the Dow Jones 
Industrial Average shed 1.1%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite edged up 
0.2%.

   U.S. chipmaker Broadcom surged 4.8% after Apple committed to a multiyear 
partnership with the company.

   In other dealings, the U.S. dollar fell to 162.43 Japanese yen from 162.59 
yen. The euro was trading at $1.1427, up from $1.1417.