World shares are mixed after Wall Street pulls near its all-time high

In early European trading, Germany's DAX rose 0.7% to 23,863.46. Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.1% 9,684.71, while France's CAC-40 added 0.3% to 8,110.58.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index climbed 2.3% to 51,028.42, nearing its all-time high, on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate next week, even while traders speculate over whether the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates this month.

Technology and telecoms giant SoftBank Group Corp.'s shares jumped 9.2% after the company's founder reaffirmed the company's strategic shift to focus on OpenAI and other investments in artificial intelligence. SoftBank's shares are still down nearly 28% from a month ago, when it announced it had sold its stake in chip maker Nvidia for $5.8 billion to be able to invest more in AI.

The Japanese government's 10-year bond yield rose above 1.9%, it's highest since 2007.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index reversed early trading losses, adding 0.7% to 25,935.90, led by gains for tech and consumer stocks. The Shanghai Composite index shed 0.1% to 3,875.79.

South Korea's Kospi fell 0.2% to 4,028.51, with weakness in tech and automotive stocks weighing on the benchmark.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index recovered from a slump earlier in the day, adding 0.3% to 8,618.40.

Taiwan's Taiex index and India's BSE Sensex were nearly unchanged.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks rose to near their record levels as mixed data on the economy kept alive hopes for a cut to interest rates.

The S&P 500 gained 0.3% and pulled within 0.6% of its all-time high set in late October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.9% and the Nasdaq composite added 0.2%.

Stocks broadly got a lift from easing Treasury yields in the bond market. Yields fell after a report suggested U.S. employers outside of the government may have cut more jobs in November than they added.

While the surprisingly weak report from ADP may be discouraging for people looking for jobs, it also bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate next week. If the Fed does, that would be the third cut of the year in hopes of helping the slowing job market.

A separate report Wednesday on activity for the U.S. services sector was more encouraging. It said growth was stronger last month than expected for businesses in the retail, finance, insurance and other industries.

The Institute for Supply Management’s survey also said that prices were increasing at their slowest rate since April. That’s important because the main argument against cutting interest rates is that it could worsen inflation.

In other dealings early Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil added 20 cents to $59.15 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 12 cents to $62.79 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar fell to 154.88 Japanese yen from 155.25 yen. The euro edged up to $1.1678 from $1.1672.