Global Stocks Gain on AI Optimism      02/25 04:47

   U.S. futures were flat Wednesday after President Donald Trump's State of the 
Union speech, while global shares were mostly higher.

   TOKYO (AP) -- U.S. futures were flat Wednesday after President Donald 
Trump's State of the Union speech, while global shares were mostly higher.

   In Europe, France's CAC 40 edged up 0.3% in early trading to 8,542.30, while 
the German DAX added 0.2% to 25,024.38. Britain's FTSE 100 jumped 0.8% to 
10,763.15.

   The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.1%, while that for the Dow Jones 
Industrial Average rose 0.1%.

   Japan's benchmark briefly hit a record high as investors were cheered by an 
overnight Wall Street rally driven by optimism about the 
artificial-intelligence boom. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 surged 2.2% to finish at 
58,583.12.

   Shares also rose in China. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.7% to 26,765.72, 
while the Shanghai Composite added 0.7% to 4,147.23. South Korea's Kospi surged 
1.9% to 6,083.86, as the benchmark continued to benefit from the global demand 
for computer chips.

   In Taiwan, the Taiex jumped 2.1% as shares in TSMC, the world's largest 
contract manufacturer of computer chips, surged 2.5%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 
jumped 1.2% to 9,128.30.

   In his speech, Trump focused on jobs, manufacturing and an economy he says 
is stronger than many Americans believe. He didn't dwell on efforts to lower 
the cost of living -- despite polling showing that his handling of the economy 
and kitchen-table issues has increasingly become a liability.

   On Tuesday, before the speech, the S&P 500 climbed 0.8% and the Dow 
industrials added 0.8%. The Nasdaq composite climbed 1%.

   Investors are closely watching for an earnings report due later in the day 
from chipmaking giant Nvidia. The quarterly report is likely to sway a jittery 
stock market as investors weigh whether the massive bets riding on technology's 
latest craze will pay off.

   As has been the case since Nvidia's chipsets emerged as AI's best building 
blocks, the expectations are sky high for the results covering the company's 
fiscal quarter, covering November through January.

   In other dealings early Wednesday, benchmark U.S. crude oil added 40 cents 
to $66.03 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 42 cents to 
$71.00 a barrel.

   The U.S. dollar recovered to 156.42 Japanese yen from 155.91 yen. The euro 
cost $1.1792, up from $1.1774.