Global Shares Gain on Mideast, Fed     06/18 05:04

   Global shares were mostly higher Wednesday and oil prices slipped as 
investors awaited a decision on interest rates by the Federal Reserve, which 
was expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged for a straight time.

   HONG KONG (AP) -- Global shares were mostly higher Wednesday and oil prices 
slipped as investors awaited a decision on interest rates by the Federal 
Reserve, which was expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged for a 
straight time.

   Oil prices continued to gyrate as the conflict in the Middle East 
intensified.

   U.S. benchmark crude oil fell 84 cents to $72.43 per barrel. Brent crude, 
the international standard, lost 86 cents to $75.59 per barrel. Crude prices 
had jumped more than 4% on Tuesday

   Fighting between Israel and Iran has driven prices for crude oil and 
gasoline higher because Iran is a major oil exporter sitting on the narrow 
Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world's crude passes. Past 
conflicts in the area have caused spikes in oil prices, though they tend to 
abate in the absence of disruptions in oil supplies.

   In share trading, Germany's DAX rose 0.1% to 23,455.04, while Britain's FTSE 
100 added 0.2% to 8,853.62.

   The CAC 40 in Paris picked up 0.2% to 7,701.69.

   Japan reported its exports fell in May as the auto industry was hit by 
Trump's higher tariffs, with exports to the U.S. falling more than 11%. But 
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 jumped 0.9% to 38,885.15.

   Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.1% to 23,710.69 while the Shanghai Composite 
Index added less than 0.1% to 3,388.81.

   The Kospi in Seoul gained 0.7% to 2,972.19 while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 
shed 0.1% to 8,531.20.

   The nearly unanimous expectation among traders and economists is that the 
Fed will make no move as it wraps up its policy meeting on Wednesday. The U.S. 
central bank has hesitated to lower interest rates and it has been on hold this 
year after cutting at the end of last year. It's waiting to see how much 
Trump's tariffs will hurt the economy and raise inflation, which has remained 
relatively tame recently and is near the Fed's target of 2%.

   On Tuesday, U.S. stocks slumped under the weight of higher oil prices and 
weaker than expected retail sales in May.

   The S&P 500 fell 0.8% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.7%. The 
Nasdaq composite fell 0.9%.

   Pricier oil can help stocks of companies in the solar industry because they 
increase the incentive to switch to alternative energy sources. But solar 
stocks tumbled Tuesday on the possibility that Congress may phase out tax 
credits for solar, wind and other energy sources that produce fewer emissions 
that change the Earth's climate.

   Enphase Energy dropped 24% and First Solar fell 17.9%.

   Treasury yields fell after a report said shoppers spent less last month at 
U.S. retailers than the month before. Solid spending has been one of the 
linchpins keeping the economy out of a recession, but part of May's drop may 
have simply been a return to more normal trends.

   In April, some shoppers had rushed to buy automobiles to get ahead of 
Trump's tariffs.

   Verve Therapeutics soared 81.5% after Eli Lilly said it would buy the 
company developing genetic medicines for cardiovascular disease in a $1 billion 
deal that could be worth up to $1.3 billion if certain conditions are met. 
Lilly's stock fell 2%.

   In currency trading Wednesday, the U.S. dollar fell to 144.97 Japanese yen 
from 145.29 yen. The euro edged higher to $1.1506 from $1.1480.