World Shares Track Wall Street Gains   05/22 05:02

   World shares advanced Friday, with Tokyo's benchmark logging a record high 
close following modest gains on Wall Street, while oil prices rose in the 
absence of signs of progress toward ending the Iran war.

   HONG KONG (AP) -- World shares advanced Friday, with Tokyo's benchmark 
logging a record high close following modest gains on Wall Street, while oil 
prices rose in the absence of signs of progress toward ending the Iran war.

   U.S. futures edged more than 0.3% higher.

   In early European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 10,489.09. 
France's CAC 40 gained 0.5% to 8,124.02, while Germany's DAX climbed 0.7% to 
24,779.16.

   In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 2.7% to 63,339.07, besting a record high 
close just over a week earlier. A report showed inflation hitting a four-year 
low in April, at 1.4%, despite higher prices for oil and gas due to the war.

   South Korea's Kospi gained 0.4% to 7,847.71.

   Hong Kong's Hang Seng picked up 0.9% to 25,606.03, while the Shanghai 
Composite index climbed 0.9% to 4,112.90.

   Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.4% to 8,657.00.

   Taiwan's Taiex closed 2.2% higher, while India's Sensex rose 0.6%.

   Oil prices remained elevated over disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, a 
critical waterway for oil and gas transit, with shipping activities still well 
below before the Iran war began in late February. Talks between the U.S. and 
Iran have dragged on, adding to uncertainty.

   Brent crude, the international standard, gained 2.8% to $105.48 a barrel. It 
was trading around $70 per barrel in February before the war's start. Benchmark 
U.S. crude climbed 2.3% higher to $98.58 a barrel.

   On Thursday, Republicans in Congress delayed into June planned votes on 
dismissing legislation that would compel President Donald Trump to withdraw 
from the war.

   The House had scheduled a Thursday vote on a war powers resolution brought 
by Democrats that would rein in Trump's military campaign. But as it became 
clear that Republicans would not have the numbers to defeat the bill, GOP 
leaders declined to hold a vote on it.

   "Markets are still searching for signs of progress in a potential deal 
between the US and Iran," ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa 
Manthey wrote in a note on Friday. "While there are signs of optimism, 
uncertainty reigns."

   Wall Street gained on Thursday, with the benchmark S&P 500 adding 0.2% and 
the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.6%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite 
edged up 0.1%.

   Shares of Nvidia fell 1.8% despite better-than-expected quarterly results on 
the artificial intelligence frenzy, with some analysts believing its share 
price still is undervalued.

   Southwest Airlines gained 2.7% and American Airlines climbed 4.9% as oil 
prices eased before bouncing back. Ralph Lauren surged 13.9% following 
stronger-than-expected quarterly results.

   Easing oil prices helped alleviate pressure from the bond market as yields 
fell. Earlier this week, yields climbed so high they threatened to slow 
economies worldwide and undercut prices for stocks, bitcoin and all kinds of 
other investments.

   In other dealings early Friday, the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury was 
at 4.56%, down from more than 4.67% earlier in the week, when higher global 
inflationary pressures stemming from the war fueled a surge in bond yields.

   The U.S. dollar rose to 159.09 Japanese yen from 158.98 yen. The euro was 
trading at $1.1608, down from $1.1619.