Indian troops kill 3 suspected rebels in disputed Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Three suspected militants were killed Saturday in separate gunbattles in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said Saturday.

India’s military in a statement said soldiers intercepted a group of militants in a forested area in southern Anantnag district on Saturday, leading to a gunbattle that killed two rebels.

In a separate incident in the disputed region’s main city of Srinagar, police and paramilitary soldiers killed a militant in an exchange of gunfire after troops cordoned off a neighborhood on a tip that he was hiding in a house. Police said two soldiers and two police were injured in the fighting.

Residents said the troops torched the home where the rebel was trapped, a common tactic employed by Indian troops in the Himalayan region. There was no independent confirmation of the incident.

India and Pakistan each administer a part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety. The nuclear-armed rivals have fought two of their three wars over the territory since they gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947.

Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.

An Indian paramilitary soldier moves towards the site of a gun battle, in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

An Indian paramilitary soldier carrying ammunition boxes moves towards the site of a gun battle, in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Indian paramilitary soldiers move towards the site of a gun battle, in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

An injured Indian paramilitary soldier is taken to hospital for treatment during a gun battle, in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Flames and smoke billows from a residential building where militants are suspected to have taken refuge during a gun battle, in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Indian paramilitary soldiers move towards the site of gun battle in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Indian paramilitary soldiers guard near the site of gun battle, in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Indian paramilitary soldiers move towards the site of gun battle, in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

An Indian paramilitary soldier guards, on top of his armored vehicle near the site of gun battle, in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

An injured Indian paramilitary soldier is taken to hospital for treatment, during the gun battle, in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting around their records ahead of the week’s first big update on how well the job market is doing. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% in early trading Tuesday, a day after rising tech stocks helped it set an all-time high for the 54th time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 41 points, while the Nasdaq composite fell 0.3% from its own record set a day earlier. AT&T rose after raising its profit forecast for the full year. U.S. Steel fell after President-elect Donald Trump reiterated on social media that he would not let Japan’s Nippon Steel take over the iconic steelmaker.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Markets were slow to gain traction in either direction early Tuesday, a day after a surging technology sector boosted Wall Street to another record finish.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were essentially unchanged before the bell.

Trade relations between the U.S. and China took another step backward after China said it is banning exports to the U.S. of gallium, germanium, antimony and other key high-tech materials with potential military applications.

The counterpunch came swiftly after the U.S. Commerce Department expanded the list of Chinese technology companies subject to export controls to include many that make equipment used to make computer chips, chipmaking tools and software. The 140 companies newly included in the so-called “entity list” are nearly all based in China.

The ratcheting up of trade restrictions comes as President-elect Donald Trump has been threatening to sharply raise tariffs on imports from China and other countries.

In equities trading, Tesla shares slipped less than 1% after a Delaware judge late Monday reaffirmed a previous ruling that the electric car maker must revoke Elon Musk’s multibillion-dollar pay package. The judge denied a request by attorneys for Musk and Tesla’s corporate directors to vacate her ruling earlier this year requiring the company to rescind the unprecedented pay package.

The proposed Musk compensation package initially carried a potential maximum value of about $56 billion, but that sum has fluctuated over the years based on Tesla’s stock price.

U.S. Steel shares tumbled more than 8% after President-elect Donald Trump reiterated on social media that he would not let Japan's Nippon Steel take over the iconic Pennsylvania steelmaker.

Nippon Steel announced last December that it planned to buy the Pittsburgh-based steel producer for $14.1 billion in cash, raising concerns about what the transaction could mean for unionized workers, supply chains and U.S. national security.

Earlier this year, President Joe Biden also came out against the acquisition.

In Europe at midday, France's CAC 40 rose 0.3%, Germany's DAX ticked up 0.1%, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.7%.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 1.9% to finish at 39,248.86. Shares in Tokyo Electron surged 4.3% after the U.S. Commerce Department expanded the list of Chinese computer chip-related companies subject to export controls.

Some analysts think Japanese stocks could end up benefiting from President-elect Donald Trump’s latest threats to raise tariffs on China and other countries. During the weekend, Trump threatened 100% tariffs against a group of developing economies, including China and Brazil, if they act to undermine the U.S. dollar.

Taiwan's Taiex gained 1.3% and the Sensex in India was up 0.8%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.6% to 8,495.20. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.9% to 2,500.10, after inflation data showed a rebound but remained low enough to keep rate-cut hopes alive for early 2025.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.0% to 19,746.32, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.4% to 3,378.81. Unconfirmed reports said Chinese leaders would meet next week to discuss planning for the coming year, an annual economic work meeting that investors are hoping to bring fresh stimulus to help spur growth in the world's second-largest economy.

This week also brings several big updates on the U.S. job market, including the October job openings report, weekly unemployment benefits data and the all-important November jobs report. They could steer the next moves for Federal Reserve, which recently began pulling interest rates lower to give support to the economy.

Economists expect Friday’s headliner report to show U.S. employers accelerated their hiring in November, coming off October’s lackluster growth that was hampered by damaging hurricanes and strikes.

In energy trading early Tuesday, benchmark U.S. crude gained 93 cents to $69.03 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 92 cents to $72.75 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 149.85 Japanese yen from 149.59 yen. The euro inched up to $1.0513 from $1.0500.

On Monday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% from the previous session’s all-time high to post a record for the 54th time this year, closing at 6,047.15. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% to 44,782.00, while the Nasdaq composite gained 1% to 19,403.95.

Holiday decorations are shown in front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

FILE - Pedestrians cross Wall Street in New York's Financial District on Nov. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

A person rides a bicycle in front of Tokyo Stock Exchange building Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of Tokyo Stock Exchange building Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader passes by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)