Asian shares rise and US futures are flat after modest Wall Street moves

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained less than 0.1% to 26,158.21, and the Shanghai Composite index rose 0.3% to 4,095.33, after official data showed China’s inflation rate picked up in December, rising by its fastest pace in almost three years. That suggests an improvement in demand, which tends to push prices higher.

The Chinese artificial intelligence startup MiniMax, whose shares debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Friday, surged more than 50% in early trading.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell less than 0.1% to 8,715.60. Shares of Rio Tinto fell 6%, after the mining group confirmed that it is in preliminary merger talks with Glencore in a deal that could create the biggest mining company in the world.

South Korea’s Kospi added 0.7% to 4,582.95, and Taiwan’s Taiex picked up 0.3%.

Investors are watching for the Labor Department’s Friday release of its monthly job report for December, which could give a more comprehensive look at the U.S. job market. The Supreme Court is also expected to issue a possible ruling on Trump’s far-reaching “Liberation Day” tariffs on Friday, which could lift market sentiment.

On Thursday, defense-industry companies advanced on Wall Street, after President Donald Trump said he wants to hike U.S. military spending to $1.5 trillion in 2027. L3Harris Technologies climbed 5.2%, Lockheed Martin rose 4.3% and Northrop Grumman edged up 2.4%.

Other moves for Wall Street were more modest, after optimism for the start of the year faded slightly on Wednesday. The S&P 500 added less than 0.1% to 6,921.46. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed nearly 0.6% to 49,266.11, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.4% to 23,480.02.

U.S. data released Thursday showed that filings for unemployment benefits rose slightly in the last week of 2025, and had remained historically low and in line with economists’ expectations. But workers productivity picked up in the July-September quarter.

In other dealings early Friday, oil prices gained after a volatile week following Trump’s ouster of the leader of Venezuela. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 35 cents to $58.11 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 38 cents to $62.37.

Supply worries persist. Venezuela has some of the largest oil reserves in the world and the U.S. has sought to assert control over its oil resources. It seized two more oil tankers this week, including one that sailed under a Russia flag that the U.S. said had evaded a blockade on sanctioned oil vessels around Venezuela.

The U.S. dollar rose to 157.27 Japanese yen, up from 156.80 yen.

The euro slipped to $1.1656 from $1.1661.

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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.