European Shares Little Changed, Asia Up04/15 04:59

   Asian shares mostly rose in Wednesday trading, echoing the rally on Wall 
Street that came as oil prices eased on hopes the United States and Iran may 
try again on talks to end their war. Benchmarks in Europe were little changed 
in early trading.

   TOKYO (AP) -- Asian shares mostly rose in Wednesday trading, echoing the 
rally on Wall Street that came as oil prices eased on hopes the United States 
and Iran may try again on talks to end their war. Benchmarks in Europe were 
little changed in early trading.

   France's CAC 40 dipped 0.7% in early trading to 8,268.60, while the German 
DAX was up less than 0.1% at 24,046.01. Britain's FTSE 100 inched up less than 
0.1% to 10,611.74. U.S. shares were set to trade in a narrow range, with Dow 
futures slipping nearly 0.1% to 48,727.00. S&P 500 futures inched up less than 
0.1% to 7,007.25.

   In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.4% to finish at 58,134.24. Australia's 
S&P/ASX 200 was little changed, inching up less than 0.1% to 8,978.70. South 
Korea's Kospi jumped 2.1% to 6,091.39. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.3% to 
25,947.32, while the Shanghai Composite added less than 0.1% to 4,027.21.

   Benchmark U.S. crude fell 33 cents to $90.95 a barrel. Brent crude added 24 
cents to $94.99. While that's still above its roughly $70 price from before the 
war began in late February, it's well below the peak level of $119.

   Lower oil prices help bring down costs for all kinds of businesses. But some 
analysts noted the war was still ongoing, warning that the optimism may be 
unfounded.

   "The counterintuitive decline in crude appears driven by growing hopes that 
a second round of peace talks between Washington and Tehran could soon 
materialize, after the first attempt fizzled out. Traders are clearly choosing 
to price in the possibility of de-escalation rather than the immediate reality 
of restricted flows," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.

   Hopes are rising for renewed talks between the U.S. and Iran after President 
Donald Trump said Tuesday that a second round of talks could happen "over the 
next two days." U.N. Secretary-General Antnio Guterres said it's "highly 
probable" that talks will restart.

   Asian nations depend on access to the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway 
that's the main avenue for crude oil produced in the Persian Gulf area to reach 
customers worldwide. Blockages there have kept oil off the global market, which 
has in turn driven up its price.

   Global inflation this year looks set to accelerate to 4.4% from 4.1% in 
2025, according to the International Monetary Fund, which had earlier thought 
inflation would slow to 3.8%. The IMF on Tuesday also downgraded its forecast 
for global economic growth to 3.1% this year from the 3.3% it had forecast in 
January.

   In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged down to 158.76 Japanese yen from 
158.79 yen. The euro cost $1.1791, down from $1.1797.