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India and Japan will “shape the Asian Century”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday, on a visit expected to secure billions of dollars in Japanese investment and an upgrade to security ties.”India and Japan’s partnership is strategic and smart. Powered by economic logic, we have turned shared interests into shared prosperity,” Modi told a business forum in Tokyo.”India is the springboard for Japanese businesses to the Global South.  We will shape the Asian Century for stability, growth, and prosperity,” Modi said.Modi’s two-day visit — a stopover before going to China — will see Japan unveil 10 trillion yen ($68 billion) in investments over the next 10 years, according to media reports.Bilateral trade is currently worth over $20 billion annually, heavily weighted in Japan’s favour.”Japan and India are strategic partners who share common values such as freedom, democracy, rule of law, having cherished friendship and trust over many years,” Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Isbiba said.”Our economic relationship is expanding rapidly as Japan’s technology and India’s talented human resources and its huge market are complementing each other,” Ishiba told the forum.Both countries have been hit by tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, with levies of 50 percent on many Indian imports into the United States taking effect this week.Japan’s vital auto sector still faces 25 percent tariffs as a July trade deal cutting them — as well as additional “reciprocal” levies — is yet to come into force. Modi and Ishiba were expected to announce that the number of Indians with specialised skills working or studying in Japan — which is beset by labour shortages — will double to 50,000 over the next five years, reports said.The investments will target fields including artificial intelligence, semiconductors and securing access to critical minerals, with Modi and Ishiba set to tour a chip facility on Saturday.They will also visit a factory making “shinkansen” bullet trains with a view to Japan assisting in a planned 7,000-kilometre (4,350-mile) high-speed rail network by the centenary of Indian independence in 2047.A joint project aimed at building a first high-speed link between the western Indian cities of Mumbai and Ahmedabad has been plagued for years with delays and cost overruns.India and Japan, members of the Quad alliance with the United States and Australia seen as a bulwark against China, were also expected to upgrade their 2008 declaration on security cooperation.After Japan, Modi was due at a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in China on Sunday and Monday hosted by President Xi Jinping and also attended by Russian leader Vladimir Putin.Modi’s visit is his first to China since 2018.The two most populous nations are intense rivals competing for influence across South Asia and fought a deadly border clash in 2020.A thaw began last October when Modi met with Xi for the first time in five years at a summit in Russia.

Markets in Asia were mixed on Friday following recent strong gains and after the Dow and the S&P 500 hit new records, although European stocks retreated.Modest gains on Wall Street came after an upward revision to US GDP for the second quarter and bumper results from AI chip giant Nvidia.The upward GDP hike to 3.3 percent from 3.0 percent mainly reflected improvements in investment and consumer spending.”After the initial release, there were concerns that the domestic (US) economy was slowing quite sharply,” said Richard Flax at Moneyfarm. “But these latest data suggest that the economy is a bit stronger than initially feared.” Attention is now on Friday’s release of a key US inflation reading and the implications for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook.The Paris stock market extended its recovery Thursday after tumbling early in the week on fears that France’s minority government could be toppled, as it struggles to find around $51 billion in savings.But London, Paris and Frankfurt retreated during early trading Friday.In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei and Seoul ended down while Shanghai advanced.Hong Kong crept higher ahead of results from tech titan Alibaba and electric car giant BYD. Oil prices dipped.Japanese industrial production fell by 1.6 percent month-on-month, while vehicle output plunged 6.7 percent.”That fall echoes the big drop in motor vehicle exports last month and suggests that US tariffs are starting to bite,” said Marcel Thieliant at Capital Economics.On Thursday, Japan’s tariff envoy, who was seeking to finalise a trade deal struck in July, abruptly cancelled a visit to Washington.- Key figures at around 0715 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 42,718.47 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8 percent at 25,189.34Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,857.93 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 9,210.71 Euro/dollar: DOWN at 1.1664 from $1.1680 on ThursdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3485 at from $1.3508 Dollar/yen: UP at 147.13 yen from 146.97 yen Euro/pound: UP at 86.50 at from 86.46 pence  West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $64.17 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.7 percent at $68.17 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.16 percent at 45,636.90 points (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 0.32 percent at 6,501.86 (close)

Japan’s defence ministry is aiming for a major boost to its drone arsenal as part of another record spending request made Friday to deal with a “severely intensifying security environment”.Japan in recent years has been shedding its strict pacifist stance, moving to obtain “counterstrike” capabilities and doubling military spending to two percent of GDP.The defence ministry’s new budget request made on Friday for the coming fiscal year starting April 1, seen by AFP, is for 8.8 trillion yen ($59.9 billion).It surpasses the world’s fourth-largest economy’s previous record of 8.7 trillion yen, secured for this fiscal year ending in March 2026.Eighty years after World War II and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan’s constitution still limits its military capacity to ostensibly defensive measures.But the new budget increase reflects the “severely intensifying security environment” around Japan, a defence ministry official told reporters in Tokyo on condition of anonymity.- Drones -The budget request asks to roughly triple spending on various types of unmanned vehicles to 313 billion yen.The ongoing war in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in 2022 has highlighted the destructive power of drones and their growing role in modern warfare.Under the plan unveiled Friday, Tokyo is eyeing the use of drones to strengthen a planned coastal defence system it dubs “SHIELD”. In the worst-case scenario where Japan’s long-distance “standoff” missiles are bypassed by enemy troops, it is hoped SHIELD — Synchronised, Hybrid, Integrated and Enhanced Littoral Defence — could block any invasion nearer land, the official said.Japan is hoping that SHIELD will be completed by March 2028, with no details yet on which part of Japan’s coastline it will be linked to.”There’s a need to catch up with significant changes in the way militaries fight,” the defence official said.During a visit to Istanbul this month, Defence Minister Gen Nakatani agreed to explore the possible purchase of Turkish drones, Japanese media reported.Japan, which hosts some 54,000 US military personnel, is also coming under pressure from US President Donald Trump’s administration to beef up its defence capabilities.Washington and Tokyo are moving to make their forces more nimble in response to threats such as a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Japan is also looking to boost arms exports, and this month won a $6 billion order from the Australian navy for 11 frigates.The budget request will now be vetted by the finance ministry, with the central government expected in the coming months to draw up a comprehensive budget proposal that is anticipated to be a record high.The Yomiuri Shimbun daily said the overall budget request is expected to be more than 122 trillion yen, a sharp increase from 117.6 trillion yen for the current year.Much of the money will cover elderly care and managing Japan’s colossal debts, which are among the biggest as a proportion of economic output among advanced economies.

Far above Kabul, the cash-strapped Taliban government has located a potentially lucrative revenue stream: Afghanistan’s airspace. As Israel and Iran’s exchange of missiles threw flight paths into disarray this year, the skies above Afghanistan offered carriers a less turbulent and faster route to ply — for a flat $700 overflight fee, according to industry insiders.The US aviation authority eased restrictions on the country’s airspace and paved the way for commercial flyovers in 2023, two years after the Taliban takeover. Airspace that had long been avoided — as the country endured four decades of war and shifting powerbrokers — suddenly became a viable option, allowing carriers to abbreviate routes and save on fuel costs.But it was not until the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June that the route really gained traction, allowing the Taliban government to potentially rake in millions.  Faced with shuttered airspace over Iran and Iraq, and unpredictable openings and closures across the Middle East, airlines saw reason to divert course and found refuge over Afghanistan. While missiles clogged the neighbouring airspace, “the risk of flying over Afghanistan (was) virtually zero”, said France-based aerospace and defence consultant Xavier Tytelman. “It’s like flying over the sea.” May’s average of 50 planes cutting through Afghanistan each day skyrocketed to around 280 after June 13, when the Iran-Israel war erupted, data from tracking website Flightradar24 showed. Since then, in any given day, more than 200 planes often traverse Afghanistan — equivalent to roughly $4.2 million a month, though this figure is difficult to verify as the authorities do not publish budgets and have declined to comment.- Opaque transactions -While not a princely sum in terms of government revenue, the overflight fees offer a much-needed boost to Afghanistan’s coffers as it contends with a massive humanitarian crisis and a war-battered economy. Around 85 percent of Afghanistan’s population live on less than one dollar a day, according to the UN, and nearly one in four Afghans aged 15 to 29 are unemployed.The World Bank says overflight fees contributed to modest growth in Afghanistan’s economy in 2024, before the route began attracting carriers needing to bypass Iran.International airlines returned to Afghanistan starting in 2023, with Turkish Airlines, flydubai and Air Arabia making almost daily flights from Afghan airports.Others, such as Singapore Airlines, Air France, Aeroflot, Air Canada and Swiss Air, fly over Kabul, Mazar-i-Sharif or Kandahar — as practicality outweighs the risks, which remain.Consultant Tytelman warned that Afghanistan is still a less than ideal place to land in case of technical or medical emergencies, with potential complications due to a lack of spare parts and dilapidated health care services. Yet he noted, “planes are landing in Kabul every day”. Airlines were loath to discuss the mechanics of paying the Taliban government, which remains isolated by many countries in part over its restrictions on women.Multiple companies contacted by AFP said they do not provide overflight payment information.  Afghanistan’s aviation officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment, and would not confirm the overflight fees or the process by which they are paid.”Companies are not formally prohibited from trading with Afghanistan, as US sanctions target only certain Taliban officials,” a World Bank expert told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. However, “some abstain out of fear of being associated with the ruling power”, he added.  Industry insiders speaking on condition of anonymity said the $700 overflight fees are paid to third-party intermediaries, such as the United Arab Emirates-based GAAC Holding, which manages airports in Afghanistan, or overflight brokers.Some airlines may now even pay directly, as more countries develop diplomatic ties with the Taliban government. – Reinforcing authority -Only Russia has officially recognised the Taliban authorities, who are hamstrung by frozen assets, sanctions on individuals and a lack of trust in the banking sector. Against such economic headwinds, the airspace revenue stream “is helpful for the cash-strapped current administration”, said Sulaiman Bin Shah, former deputy minister of industry and commerce in the ousted government and founder of the Catalysts Afghanistan consultancy. But Bin Shah emphasised the overflight traffic offers more than just financial benefits, as it increases normalisation of the Taliban authorities. “It reinforces their grip on state functions and supports the image of a functioning government, even without formal international recognition,” he said. “So while the income itself is not transformative, it plays a meaningful role in the administration’s economic narrative and political positioning.”

India once united US policymakers like few issues. For nearly three decades, US presidents of both parties courted New Delhi as an emerging ally, politely overlooking disagreements for the sake of larger goals.Donald Trump has abruptly changed that.The US administration on Wednesday slapped 50 percent tariffs on many Indian products as Trump seeks to punish India for buying oil from Russia.India was a Cold War partner of Moscow but since the 1990s US leaders have hoped for a joint front with fellow democracy India in the face of the rise of China, seen by Washington as its top long-term adversary.In striking timing, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to China this weekend, the latest meeting between the world’s two most populous nations as they explore areas of common ground.Trump has accused India of fueling Moscow’s deadly attacks on Ukraine by purchasing Russian oil. Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro even called Ukraine “Modi’s war” in a Bloomberg TV interview Wednesday.Yet Trump has refrained from tougher US sanctions on Russia itself, saying he still hopes for a negotiated settlement despite wide pessimism.”This is not just about tariffs, not just about Russia, not just about oil,” said Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution.”There seems to be something broader going on here — personal on Trump’s side, piqued as he may be at India,” she said.”And then on the Indian side, for Modi, it becomes a political issue.”- Faltering bromance -Trump and Modi, both right-wing populists, appeared to forge a strong bond during Trump’s first term.In 2020, Trump rejoiced as Modi invited him to inaugurate the world’s largest cricket stadium in front more than 120,000 people.But Trump has since appeared irritated as he seeks credit for what he said was Nobel Prize-worthy diplomacy between Pakistan and India, which struck its neighbor in May in response to a massacre of Indian civilians in divided Kashmir.India, which adamantly rejects any third-party mediation on Kashmir, has since given the cold shoulder to Trump as he muses of brokering between New Delhi and Islamabad.Pakistan by contrast has embraced Trump’s attention, with its powerful army chief meeting him at the White House.US policymakers have long skirted around India’s sensitivities on Kashmir and sought to contain fallout from disagreements on other issues.Jake Sullivan, national security advisor under Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden, said that Trump had broken a bipartisan consensus with his “massive trade offensive” against India.India is now thinking “I guess maybe we have to go show up in Beijing and sit with the Chinese because we’ve got to hedge against America,” Sullivan told news and opinion site The Bulwark.Madan said that for the Indian establishment, the tariffs contradicted US assurances that unlike China, Washington would not use “economic ties to coerce India.””If you’re India, even if you sort this particular issue out, you’re now saying, we used to see this increasing interaction with the US across many domains as an opportunity,” she said.”And now Trump has made us realize that we should also see that integration or dependence as a vulnerability.”- Chance for China -For China, Modi’s trip is an opportunity “to drive a wedge between India and the US,” said William Yang, an analyst at the International Crisis Group.”Beijing won’t miss the opportunity to present itself as a ‘reliable partner’ that is interested in deepening relations with New Delhi,” he said.But he noted that India and China still had fundamental differences, despite recent efforts to resolve a longstanding border dispute.China is the key partner and military supplier of Pakistan and has sought to ramp up influence in the Indian Ocean.Kriti Upadhyaya, a visiting fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, played down long-term consequences of the tariff rift, noting how much the US-India relationship has developed in recent years.”When you really like somebody, a friend who’s close to you, you’re always going to have more grievances with them,” she said.

Two of Wall Street’s major indexes closed at record highs Thursday, lifted by an upward revision to second-quarter US GDP data and strong earnings from AI chip giant Nvidia.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.16 percent to a record 45,636.90, while the broad-based S&P 500 Index gained 0.32 percent to 6,501.86, also a record. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.53 percent to 21,705.16.The United States saw its gross domestic product grow at an annualized rate of 3.3 percent in the second quarter, according to Thursday’s official update — higher than previously calculated and above market expectations. The initial GDP estimate published in late July showed annualized growth of 3.0 percent, while investors had expected a revision to only 3.1 percent.The upward revision mainly reflected improvements in investment and consumer spending, the Commerce Department said. Growth was also bolstered by a decline in US imports, which are subtracted from GDP calculations. This drop occurred as businesses pulled back on shipments after rushing to stock up ahead of President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes.Markets are anticipating a potential Federal Reserve rate cut at its September meeting, which could stimulate economic activity. The market “is waiting a little bit to get some more information feeding into Fed decisions,” including next week’s job numbers, Victoria Fernandez of Crossmark Global Investments told AFP.”After the initial release, there were concerns that the domestic economy was slowing quite sharply,” said Richard Flax, chief investment officer at Moneyfarm. “But these latest data suggest that the economy is a bit stronger than initially feared.”The focus now shifts to Friday’s release of a key inflation reading and its potential impact on the outlook for additional rate cuts.Despite the positive market sentiment, Nvidia shares fell 0.82 percent, adding to recent declines even after posting a profit of $26.4 billion on record revenue of $46.7 billion in the second quarter. Investors had keenly awaited Wednesday’s earnings update from the California-based firm, whose remarkable growth has driven strong gains for tech stocks in recent months.The earnings report comes amid market concerns over a potential spending bubble in the artificial intelligence sector that could hurt the chip giant’s prospects.In Europe, the Paris stock market extended its recovery after tumbling early in the week on fears that France’s minority government could be toppled. Prime Minister François Bayrou had proposed a confidence vote over his budget cuts. France’s borrowing costs have soared since the vote was called Monday, as the government struggles to find around 44 billion euros ($51 billion) in savings.- Key figures at around 2045 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.16 percent at 45,636.90 points New York – S&P 500: UP 0.32 percent at 6,501.86New York – Nasdaq: UP 0.53 percent to 21,705.16London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 9,216.82 Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,762.60 Frankfurt – DAX: FLAT at 24,039.92Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 42,828.79 (close) Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.8 percent at 24,998.82 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 3,843.60 (close)Euro/dollar:  UP at $1.1680 from $1.1633 on WednesdayPound/dollar: UP at 1.3508 from $1.3496Dollar/yen:  DOWN at 146.97 from 147.51 yen Euro/pound: UP at 86.46 from 86.20 pence West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.70 percent at $64.60 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.84 percent at $68.62 per barrel

Chinese-owned luxury carmaker Lotus said Thursday that it planned to cut up to 550 UK jobs, in part over uncertainty caused by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.The layoffs represent over forty percent of its 1,300 employees in Britain. Lotus said the restructuring was necessary to “secure a sustainable future,” citing the “rapidly evolving automotive environment, which is seeing uncertainty with rapid changes in global policies, including tariffs.”The carmaker, which is majority owned by Chinese auto giant Geely, has several sites in the UK, including its headquarters in Hethel, eastern England.Another Lotus factory is in Wuhan, China.Automakers have been among the companies hit hardest by Trump’s tariff onslaught as he tries to bring auto production back to the United States.Britain and the United States struck a trade deal in May under which a 27.5-percent tariff rate on UK car exports dropped to 10 percent for the first 100,000 vehicles per year.But the levy remains higher than that placed on UK cars before Trump’s tariff blitz in April.UK exports of vehicles to the United States rebounded in July following months of declines as the trade agreement came into force on June 30, industry data showed Thursday.

Stock markets fluctuated Thursday as investors digested stronger-than-estimated US economic growth and record earnings at AI chip giant Nvidia.The tech-heavy Nasdaq edged higher on Wall Street, while the broad-based S&P 500 was flat and the Dow fell slightly.Shares in Nvidia were down 1.4 percent, adding to recent declines despite posting a profit of $26.4 billion on record revenue of $46.7 billion in the second quarter.Investors had keenly awaited the earnings update late Wednesday from the California-based firm, whose robust growth has largely driven strong gains for tech stocks in recent months.Its shares fell, however, as important data centre revenue declined.The earnings report comes amid market worries over a spending bubble in the artificial intelligence sector that could burst and hurt the chip giant’s fortunes.”The market seems to be asking whether Nvidia can keep up this pace as competition intensifies and AI enthusiasm starts to look a little overbought,” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at traders Scope Markets.Investors were also reacting to US data showing that the world’s biggest economy grew 3.3 percent in the second quarter, up from an initial estimate of 3.0 percent in July.”After the initial release, there were concerns that the domestic economy was slowing quite sharply,” said Richard Flax, chief investment officer at Moneyfarm.”But these latest data suggest that the economy is a bit stronger than initially feared,” he said.The upward revision mainly reflected improvements in investment and consumer spending, the Commerce Department said.But overall, growth in the second quarter was also bolstered by a fall in US imports, which are subtracted from the GDP. This drop came as businesses pulled back on shipments after rushing to stock up ahead of US President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes.The data could offer insight into the outlook for US interest rates, with the Federal Reserve eyeing further cuts to borrowing costs in a bid to boost the US economy.”Overall, this release probably doesn’t change Federal Reserve thinking too much,” Flax said, adding that the central bank was still expected to cut rates by 25 basis points at its September meeting.”But a stronger than expected result from domestic demand suggests that there might not be that much scope to cut rates over the next 12 months.”The focus now shifts to Friday’s release of a key inflation reading for the Fed, and its potential impact on outlook for additional rate cuts.In Europe, the Paris stock market extended its recovery, having tumbled early in the week on fears that France’s minority government could be toppled.This was after Prime Minister Francois Bayrou proposed a confidence vote over his proposed budget cuts.France’s borrowing costs have soared since the vote was called Monday, as the government wrestles with how to find around 44 billion euros ($51 billion) in savings.- Key figures at around 1545 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 45,527.95 points New York – S&P 500: FLAT at 6,482.84New York – Nasdaq: UP 0.2 percent at 21,640.96London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 9,216.82 Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,762.60 Frankfurt – DAX: FLAT at 24,039.92Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 42,828.79 (close) Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.8 percent at 24,998.82 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 3,843.60 (close)Euro/dollar:  UP at $1.1672 from $1.1633 on WednesdayPound/dollar: UP at 1.3513 from $1.3496Dollar/yen:  DOWN at 147.01 from 147.51 yen Euro/pound: UP at 86.39 from 86.20 pence West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.0 percent at $63.54 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.7 percent at $66.98 per barrel

Major stock markets traded mixed Thursday after Nvidia’s quarterly earnings beat expectations, but shares in the AI powerhouse slipped over worries about its stalled business in China.Investors had keenly awaited the key earnings update late Wednesday from the California-based firm, whose robust growth has largely driven strong gains for tech stocks in recent months.Nvidia posted a profit of $26.4 billion on record revenue of $46.7 billion in the second quarter, but it shares fell in after-market US trading as important data centre revenue declined. The earnings report comes amid market worries over a spending bubble in the artificial intelligence sector that could burst and hurt the chip giant’s fortunes.”The market seems to be asking whether Nvidia can keep up this pace as competition intensifies and AI enthusiasm starts to look a little overbought,” noted Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at traders Scope Markets.The dollar dropped against main rivals awaiting US growth data due Thursday that should provide clues regarding the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.It could offer also insight into the outlook for US interest rates, with the Federal Reserve eyeing further cuts to borrowing costs in a bid to boost the world’s biggest economy. Japan’s media on Thursday reported that Tokyo’s chief negotiator for the country’s trade agreement with the United States, Ryosei Akazawa, had postponed a planned trip to Washington. Akazawa said Wednesday he hoped to use the trip to pressure the US administration to implement reduced tariffs agreed upon in July.In Europe, the Paris stock market extended its recovery, having tumbled early in the week on fears that France’s minority government could be toppled.This was after Prime Minister Francois Bayrou proposed a confidence vote over his proposed budget cuts.France’s borrowing costs have soared since the vote was called Monday, as the government wrestles with how to find around 44 billion euros ($51 billion) in savings.Oil prices fell Thursday owing to a healthy supply situation, according to analysts.- Key figures at around 1030 GMT -London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 9,213.00 pointsParis – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,761.32 Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.1 percent at 24,031.63Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 42,828.79 (close) Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.8 percent at 24,998.82 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 3,843.60 (close)New York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 45,565.23 points (close)Euro/dollar:  UP at $1.1667 from $1.1633 on WednesdayPound/dollar: UP at 1.3523 from $1.3496Dollar/yen:  DOWN at 147.00 from 147.51 yen Euro/pound: UP at 86.29 from 86.20 pence West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $63.86 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.5 percent at $67.13 per barrel

Asian markets were mixed Thursday after AI powerhouse Nvidia’s quarterly earnings beat expectations, but its shares slipped over worries about the company’s stalled business in China.Investors had been awaiting the key earnings update from the California-based firm, whose robust growth has largely driven strong gains for tech stocks in recent months.The AI giant posted a profit of $26.4 billion on record revenue of $46.7 billion in the recently ended quarter, but shares fell in after-market trading as important data centre revenue declined. The earnings report comes amid market worries about an AI spending bubble that could burst and hurt the chip giant’s fortunes.”The information feeds into niggling fears of slowing investment in the AI space and lower growth going forward,” Kyle Rodda, senior market analyst at Capital.com in Melbourne told Bloomberg News.During Thursday trading in Asia, Tokyo, Shanghai and Seoul finished up, while Taipei fell.Hong Kong was down 0.7 percent in afternoon trade.In Japan, media reported Thursday that Tokyo’s chief negotiator for the trade agreement with the United States, Ryosei Akazawa, had postponed his planned trip to Washington. Akazawa said Wednesday he hoped to use this trip to pressure the US administration to implement reduced tariffs agreed upon in July.London, Paris and Frankfurt ticked up during early trading in Europe.On Wednesday the Paris stock market bucked the downward trend by rebounding from the previous day’s tumble. That fall had been caused by fears that France’s minority government could be toppled after Prime Minister Francois Bayrou proposed a confidence vote over his proposed budget cuts.France’s borrowing costs have soared since the vote was called Monday, as the government wrestles with how to find around 44 billion euros ($51 billion) in savings.- Key figures at around 0715 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 42,828.79 (close) Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.7 percent at 25,034.13 Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 3,843.60 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 9,260.21Euro/dollar:  UP at $1.1666 from $1.1633 on WednesdayPound/dollar: UP at 1.3508 from $1.3496 Dollar/yen:  DOWN at 146.83 from 147.51 yen Euro/pound: UP at 86.36 from 86.20 pence West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.9 percent at $63.58 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.9 percent at $67.47 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 45,565.23 points (close)