Mixed Performance in Asian Markets Amid AI Share Selling

Asian markets had a varied performance on Monday. In Japan and South Korea, benchmarks fell due to the selling of artificial intelligence-related shares. However, this was balanced by gains in other stocks.

U.S. futures moved higher and oil prices saw an increase. They remained close to the levels from before the Iran conflict started in late February. Over the weekend, U.S.-Iran tensions rose. Iran launched drone and missile attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait as a response to new U.S. airstrikes. This added to global economic uncertainties.

Stock Performance

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 decreased 1% to 68,704.70 after a 4.2% drop on Friday. SoftBank Group fell 5.9% following a 12.5% decline previously. In South Korea, the Kospi dropped 2% to 8,246.50. It was down 5.8% on Friday. Samsung Electronics saw a 6% fall, and SK Hynix, a memory chipmaker, decreased by 4.5%. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Taiex gained 1.1%, bouncing back from a 3.6% fall on Friday.

Japan’s and South Korea’s markets have experienced an upswing owing to demand for tech components used in AI. Recent concerns over AI valuations have trimmed these gains.

Regional Markets

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 2.1% to 23,153.89. The Shanghai Composite index increased by 0.2% to 4,034.08. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 saw a rise of 0.4% to 8,798.00. India’s Sensex showed little change.

Wall Street Impact

On Friday, worries over AI affected Wall Street. However, shares ended mixed. The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1% to 7,354.02. The Nasdaq composite, heavy on technology, decreased 0.2% to 25,297.62. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% to 51,876.11. Micron Technology’s shares fell 6.7%, Intel was down 3.4%, Nvidia dropped 1.6%, and AMD fell 2.1%.

Oil and Currency Markets

Early Monday, Brent crude, an international standard, increased 0.7% to $73.27 a barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 0.8% to $70.02 a barrel. Before the conflict started, Brent crude sold for about $72 a barrel.

The U.S. dollar rose to 161.81 Japanese yen from 161.71 yen. The euro remained steady at $1.1386.

ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey noted the risk in the oil market from the U.S.-Iran tensions. They mentioned increased concerns about the safety of ships in the Strait of Hormuz after recent attacks. Optimism about a quick recovery in Persian Gulf supplies might be misguided, highlighting potential risks.