Global Shares Rise Amid Subdued Trading05/01 04:50

   Global shares rose Thursday in limited trading, with many markets closed for 
May Day, or international Labor Day holidays.

   TOKYO (AP) -- Global shares rose Thursday in limited trading, with many 
markets closed for May Day, or international Labor Day holidays.

   Britain's FTSE 100 inched up less than 0.1% in early trading to 8,496.53. 
The future for the S&P 500 jumped 1.5%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial 
Average gained 0.7%.

   Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.1% to finish at 36,452.30. As expected, 
the Bank of Japan decided to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged as 
worries mount over the impact of Trump's policies. The central bank also cut 
its economic growth forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2026 by more than 
half, to 0.5% from 1.1% three months ago.

   "Considering the significant downgrading of growth and inflation forecasts 
in its Quarterly Outlook Report, the central bank will likely take a long pause 
to assess the impact of high global trade policy uncertainty on growth and 
inflation," Shigeto Nagai of Oxford Economics said in a report.

   The U.S. dollar rose to 144.19 Japanese yen from 143.06 yen. The euro cost 
$1.1329, inching down from $1.1331.

   Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2% to 8,145.60.

   Uncertainty about what President Donald Trump's trade war will do to the 
U.S. economy remains a key focus for investors.

   On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% while the Dow gained 0.4%. The Nasdaq 
composite index edged 0.1% lower.

   The U.S. has been hit with the threat of a worst-case scenario called 
"stagflation," one where the economy stagnates yet inflation remains high. 
Economists fear it because the Federal Reserve has no good tools to fix both 
problems at the same time. If the Fed were to try to help one problem by 
adjusting interest rates, it would likely make the other worse.

   A more comprehensive report on the job market from the U.S. government will 
arrive on Friday. Worries are simmering that Trump's trade war may drag the 
U.S. economy into a recession. The president's on-again-off-again rollout of 
tariffs has created deep uncertainty about what's to come.

   "I'm not taking a credit or discredit for the stock market," Trump said 
Wednesday. "I'm just saying we inherited a mess."

   Uncertainty around Trump's tariffs has already triggered historic swings for 
financial markets, from stocks to bonds to the value of the U.S. dollar, that 
battered investors.

   In energy trading, U.S. benchmark crude shed $1.07 to $57.14 a barrel. Brent 
crude, the international standard, gave up $1.00 to $60.06 a barrel.