Stock market today: Japan’s Nikkei 225 hits new record close, as other world markets advance WSB-TV Channel 2 [Video]

BANGKOK — (AP) — Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 surged Thursday to a record close of 40,913.65, while most other major world markets also advanced.

Investors worldwide are keen to see the Federal Reserve cut rates that it has been keeping at two-decade highs to slow growth and tame inflation, and hopes have been reviving that price pressures are easing enough to make that possible.

In early European trading, Germany’s DAX rose 0.2% to 18,586.00 and the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.8% to 7,694.52.

In London, the FTSE 100 was up 0.7% at 8,228.90. British voters were choosing a new government in a parliamentary election Thursday that is widely expected to bring the opposition Labour Party to power.

The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.1% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2%.

The Nikkei 225 gained 0.8% to 40,913.65, with buying of automakers’ shares and other export …