TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose on Thursday, encouraged by gains on Wall Street led by a handful of influential Big Tech companies.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 soared in early trading, adding 2.8% to 36,605.62, although the sharp gains were partly a reflection of earlier sharp drops.

The cheap yen was a boon for some issues, as it boosts the value of overseas earnings when converted into yen. Toyota Motor Corp. jumped 2.8%, while Nintendo Co. edged up 1.2%.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 142.53 Japanese yen from 142.28. The euro cost $1.1016, inching down from $1.1017.

Shares in Nippon Steel Corp. were little changed after Keidanren, a group of Japan’s top businesses, expressed in a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen concerns about “political interference” in Nippon Steel’s proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel Corp. U.S. Steel issues finished nearly 7% higher a day earlier.

“America’s investment climate will be severely tarnished if such political interference prevails,” according to the letter, which was also signed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Global Business Alliance, Alliance for Automotive Innovation and other groups.

Yellen oversees the government committee reviewing the takeover, while the White House recently signaled an openness to blocking the acquisition.

In the rest of the region, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7% to 8,041.10. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.0% to 17,283.46, while the Shanghai Composite was little changed at 2,720.40.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rallied 1.1% after erasing a morning wipeout of 1.6%. A majority of the index’s stocks still finished lower for the day, but the performances by Nvidia and other tech stocks were enough to drive it to a third straight gain and back within 2% of its all-time high set in July.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 124 points, or 0.3%, after rallying back from a drop of 743 points. The Nasdaq composite jumped 2.2%.

In the latest government report on U.S. inflation, overall inflation slowed to 2.5% in August from 2.9% in July, a touch better than expected. But prices rose more than expected from July into August when ignoring food and energy, and economists say that can be a better predictor of where inflation is heading.

The data seemed to confirm the U.S. Federal Reserve will likely cut its main interest rate at its meeting next week, which would be the first such cut in more than four years. A worry is that it may prove too late, with U.S. shoppers already struggling under the weight of high prices.

Big Tech also once again lifted Wall Street. A handful of these behemoths accounted for most of the S&P 500’s return through the early part of this year, in large part on excitement about the artificial-intelligence boom.

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Besides the 8.1% jump for Nvidia, gains of 2.8% for Amazon, 2.1% for Microsoft and 6.8% for Broadcom were the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 58.61 points to 5,554.13. The Dow rose 124.75 to 40,861.71, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 369.65 to 17,395.53.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 3.66% from 3.64% late Tuesday. The two-year yield, which more closely follows expectations for Fed action, rose more, to 3.65% from 3.59%.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude gained 19 cents to $67.50 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard added 26 cents to $70.87 a barrel.

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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.

NEW YORK, Sept. 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Tidal Financial Group is pleased to announce upcoming changes effective September 26, 2024, to enhance the offerings of three Defiance ETFs:

• The Defiance Nasdaq 100 Enhanced Options Income ETF will be renamed the Defiance Nasdaq 100 Enhanced Options & 0DTE Income ETF.

• The Defiance S&P 500 Enhanced Options Income ETF will be renamed the Defiance S&P 500 Enhanced Options & 0DTE Income ETF, with a new ticker symbol WDTE.

• The Defiance R2000 Enhanced Options Income ETF will be renamed the Defiance R2000 Enhanced Options & 0DTE Income ETF.

These changes reflect each Fund’s adoption of options expiring on the same day (0DTE). Additionally, effective immediately, each Fund’s principal investment strategy is revised to seek to provide weekly distributions. As a result, all references in the prospectus and SAI to monthly distributions are hereby changed to weekly distributions. Additionally, each Fund will seek a minimum daily income of 0.15%, with all references in the prospectus to seeking a minimum daily income revised accordingly. As part of these updates:

About Defiance ETFs

Founded in 2018, Defiance is a leading ETF sponsor specializing in income and thematic investments. Defiance offers pioneering thematic ETFs that empower investors to capitalize on disruptive innovations across sectors such as AI, machine learning, quantum computing, 5G, and hydrogen energy.

About Tidal Investments LLC

Formed by ETF industry pioneers and thought leaders, Tidal Investments LLC sets out to revolutionize the way ETFs have historically been developed, launched, marketed, and sold. With a focus on growing AUM, Tidal offers a comprehensive suite of services, proprietary tools, and methodologies designed to bring lasting ideas to market. Tidal is an advocate for ETF innovation. The firm is on a mission to provide issuers with the intelligence and tools needed to efficiently and to effectively launch ETFs and to optimize growth potential in a highly competitive space. For more information, visit https://www.tidalfinancialgroup.com/.

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing. For a prospectus or summary prospectus with this and other information about the Fund, please visit our website at www.daysadvisors.com. Read the prospectus or summary prospectus carefully before investing.

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Investments involve risk.

The Fund is distributed by Foreside Fund Services LLC.

CONTACT: Contact Gavin Filmore at gfilmore@tidalfg.com for more information.

(Bloomberg) — Brazil Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said the government is worried a resurgence in extreme weather will spur inflation as central bankers are expected to lift the interest rate starting next week.

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The nation’s persistent dry spell can stoke food and energy price increases, Haddad told reporters in Brasilia on Wednesday. At the same time, such cost rises are not easily controlled with borrowing cost hikes, he said.

“The central bank has the technical framework to make the best decision,” Haddad said. “We’ll wait for next week’s monetary policy decision.”

Latin America’s largest economy is on alert as the worst drought in 40 years keeps wildfires burning and puts crops and energy supply at risk. Those woes complicate the outlook for the central bank, which is under pressure to start rate hikes Sept. 18 in response to above-target consumer price gains. The government has consistently decried high borrowing costs as an impediment to faster growth.

From May through August, some key agriculture areas faced the driest weather since 1981, according to natural disaster monitoring center Cemaden. The lack of rainfall poses risks for crop supplies in a world that’s become increasingly dependent on Brazil for everything from sugar to coffee and soybeans.

Brazil’s government will raise its 2024 economic growth projection, Haddad said, adding that gross domestic product should expand above 3% this year.

Analysts surveyed by the central bank expect policymakers to lift the benchmark Selic to 11.25% in December from its current level of 10.5%.

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