World Shares Mostly Higher Thursday    04/16 06:17

   World shares mostly gained while oil prices rose on Thursday as investors 
were closely watching prospects of a ceasefire extension in the Iran war and 
more talks between the U.S. and Iran.

   HONG KONG (AP) -- World shares mostly gained while oil prices rose on 
Thursday as investors were closely watching prospects of a ceasefire extension 
in the Iran war and more talks between the U.S. and Iran.

   In early European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.5% to 10,610.04. 
France's CAC 40 was also up 0.5% to 8,316.76, while Germany's DAX climbed 0.5% 
to 24,175.91.

   Asian shares ended mostly higher. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 closed 2.4% higher at 
59,518.34, reaching an all-time high and recovering from its earlier losses 
since the start of the Iran war. South Korea's Kospi climbed 2.2% to 6,226.05.

   Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.7% to 26,394.26, while the Shanghai Composite 
index was up 0.7% to 4,055.55. China on Thursday reported 5% economic growth 
for the January-March quarter, an acceleration from the previous quarter. While 
economists say China has largely shrugged off the initial impacts of the Iran 
war, some are warning its massive export engine could be hit more significantly 
in the coming months on slower global economic growth.

   Taiwan's Taiex traded 1.1% higher. Shares of chipmaker TSMC were up 0.2% 
ahead of its results announcement Thursday, which showed a 58% jump in profit, 
better than analysts had expected. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3%.

   On Wednesday, regional officials told The Associated Press that the U.S. and 
Iran had an "in-principle agreement" to extend a two-week ceasefire deal that 
is expiring next week and were making progress toward another round of talks.

   But U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also warned that Washington was 
preparing to apply secondary sanctions on those doing business with Iran -- 
including potentially those from China that's buying Iranian oil -- in order to 
step up economic pressure on the country.

   Oil gained on Thursday. Brent crude, the international standard, was up 1.4% 
to $96.27 per barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude, meanwhile, gained 1.2% to $92.41 a 
barrel.

   Oil prices have surged since the Iran war began in late February. The Strait 
of Hormuz, a crucial waterway where roughly a fifth of the world's oil passes 
through normally, has remained largely closed. The U.S. has imposed a sea 
blockade on Iranian ports this week to force Tehran to reopen the strait and to 
accept a deal.

   "The key upside risk for the market is that peace talks between the US and 
Iran break down," ING Bank strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote 
in a note Thursday. "This isn't an unrealistic scenario, given that US and 
Iranian demands remain fairly wide apart."

   On Wednesday, Wall Street hit a record on optimism over progress on a longer 
term ceasefire of the Iran war. The benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.8% to 7,022.95, 
eclipsing its prior all-time high set in January.

   The Nasdaq composite gained 1.6% to 24,016.02, while the Dow Jones 
Industrial Average edged down 0.2% to 48,463.72.

   Shares of Bank of America were 1.8% higher after the bank announced 
better-than-expected quarterly results and its CEO Brian Moynihan saw signs of 
a "resilient American economy" including solid spending by consumers. Shares of 
Morgan Stanley gained 4.5% also following better-than-expected quarterly 
results.

   San Francisco-based shoe brand Allbirds' share price ballooned 582% to 
nearly $17, after saying it's shifting into artificial intelligence and would 
be changing its name to NewBird AI.

   In other dealings, the price of gold climbed 0.1% on Thursday to $4,829.40 
an ounce, while silver prices edged up less than 0.1% to $79.65 per ounce.

   The U.S. dollar rose to 159.12 Japanese yen from 159 yen. The euro was 
trading at $1.1774, down from $1.1799.