World shares were mixed Friday after broad gains lifted several major indexes to all-time highs on Wall Street as the US stimulus package finally became law.

Shares fell in Paris and Frankfurt but rose in Tokyo and Shanghai. Oil prices fell and the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury rose to 1.58 per cent.

On Thursday, the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a measure of small-company stocks all closed at record levels as President Joe Biden signed a $1.9 trillion economic relief bill into law.

Tokyo's benchmark rose 1.7 per cent. Hong Kong declined but the Shanghai Composite index recovered from early losses. Oil prices fell and the yield on the US 10-year Treasury rose to 1.57 per cent.

US markets surged on Thursday after Biden signed into law a sweeping pandemic relief package that would provide $1,400 checks for most Americans and direct billions of dollars to schools, state and local governments, and businesses affected by pandemic-related shutdowns, which began a year ago.

That and progress in vaccinations against Covid-19 have helped settle some of the uncertainty that has roiled markets in recent weeks.

“With regular service resumed, we can expect markets globally to end the week on a positive note," Jeffrey Halley of Oanda said in a commentary.

But a calming of worries over inflation, eased by a lower than expected US consumer price reading for February, is likely temporary, he said.

Prices are expected to rise as the economy recovers.

Germany's DAX fell 0.5 per cent to 14,491.77 and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.2 per cent to 6,025.96.

In Britain, the FTSE 100 was flat, at 6,736.71. US futures augured a lacklustre start to Friday trading, with the contract for the S&P 500 down 0.4 per cent and that for the Dow almost flat.

The respite for markets is likely to be brief, with the talks between US and Chinese officials scheduled for March 18 in Anchorage, Alaska, expected to tackle intense disagreements over trade, the pandemic and human rights issues, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told lawmakers.

It will be the first face-to-face talks since Biden took office at a time of growing strains between the two largest economies.

In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 added 1.7 per cent to 29,717.83.

Rakuten jumped 8.6 per cent and Japan Post shares advanced 4.9 per cent after the two companies announced the postal giant will invest about USD 1.4 billion in an 8 per cent stake in the e-commerce venture to strengthen a partnership in deliveries, fintech and other areas.

South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.4 per cent to 3,054.39. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.8 per cent to 6,766.80. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 2.2 per cent to 28,739.72, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.5 per cent to 3,453.08.

On Thursday, the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a measure of small-company stocks all closed at record levels as a recent stretch of volatile trading in the bond market continued to ease, keeping investors in a buying mood.

The S&P 500 added 1 per cent to 3,939.34. The Dow added 0.6 per cent to 32,485.59, its second all-time high in a row.

The Nasdaq composite gained 2.5 per cent to 13,398.67. The tech-heavy index, which earlier in the week skidded more than 10 per cent below its February peak, has regained some ground, but remains 4.9 per cent below that all-time high.

Traders also bid up shares in smaller stocks, pushing the Russell 2000 index up 2.3 per cent to 2,338.54.

Benchmark US crude slipped 40 cents to $65.62 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

It gained 2.5 per cent on Thursday. Brent crude, the international standard for pricing, lost 28 cents to USD 69.35 per barrel.

The US dollar cost 109.11 Japanese yen, up from 108.53 yen late Thursday. The euro fell to $1.1937 from $1.1983.

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