Oil giant Saudi Aramco said Sunday that international investors had snatched up the bulk of shares sold in its latest offering, which was set to raise $11.2 billion.

The secondary offering was expected to provide a short-term boost to Saudi Arabia's finances as the Gulf kingdom builds large-scale projects including resorts and stadiums, part of a reform drive to prepare for an eventual post-oil future.

The Japanese economy shrank at an annual rate of 1.8% in the first quarter of this year, slightly better than the initial estimate at a 2.0% contraction, according to revised government data Monday.

The revision was due to private sector investments, at minus 0.4%, up from the previous minus 0.5%.

World stocks were mostly lower on Monday after a U.S. jobs report released Friday came in hotter than expected, while the euro fell after French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly following a setback in Sunday's parliamentary election.

Far-right parties made major gains in parliamentary elections Sunday, leading French President Emmanuel Macron to call a snap election. This caused the euro to drop to its lowest price in nearly a month. The euro was trading at $1.0766, down from $1.0778.

They are called zombies, companies so laden with debt that they are just stumbling by on the brink of survival, barely able to pay even the interest on their loans and often just a bad business hit away from dying off for good.

An Associated Press analysis found their numbers have soared to nearly 7,000 publicly traded companies around the world — 2,000 in the United States alone — whiplashed by years of piling up cheap debt followed by stubborn inflation that has pushed borrowing costs to decade highs.

China's exports in May grew at their fastest pace in more than a year despite trade tensions, though imports fell short of analyst expectations, according to customs data released Friday.

Exports jumped 7.6% in May from the same month last year to $302.35 billion, rising at the fastest pace since April 2023. Imports rose by 1.8% to $219.73 billion, missing estimates of about 4% growth.

The European Central Bank plans to move ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve on Thursday in cutting interest rates, making the eurozone the biggest rich-world economy to start easing borrowing costs for businesses and consumers as the inflation that arose after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine slowly recedes.

ECB President Christine Lagarde and other officials have made it clear that a quarter-point rate cut from the current record high of 4% is more than likely when the bank's 26-member governing council meets at the institution's skyscraper headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany.

Global markets rose Thursday after Wall Street barreled to records Wednesday as the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology keeps sending stocks higher.

European markets opened higher as investors awaited a decision by the European Central Bank. It is expected to cut its key interest rate from a record high of 4% later in the day. France's CAC 40 rose 0.3% to 8,032.86, and Germany's DAX surged 1% to 18,758.43. Britain's FTSE 100 edged up 0.2% to 8,259.40.

Zara owner Inditex, the world's largest fashion retailer, on Wednesday reported a record net profit for the first quarter, even as the Spanish group faces growing competition from Chinese-founded online rival Shein.

A fresh offering of shares in Saudi Aramco, the Gulf kingdom's largely state-owned oil behemoth, comes at a pivotal moment for sweeping economic reforms that have struggled to lure foreign investment.

The sale of 1.545 billion shares, expected to begin trading next week, could fetch nearly $12 billion –- a short-term boon for officials working to finance everything from luxury resorts to football stadiums and a planned desert megacity known as NEOM.

Global shares traded mixed Wednesday, as investors weighed recent data highlighting a slowing U.S. economy that offers both upsides and downsides for Wall Street.

France's CAC 40 rose 0.4% to 7,966.52, while Germany's DAX surged 0.6% to 18,516.05. Britain's FTSE 100 edged up 0.2% to 8,249.33. The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2% and the S&P 500 future rose 0.1%.