Hong Kong (AFP) – Asian stocks rallied Tuesday to extend a Wall Street surge led by technology firms as investors took advantage of lower prices following last week’s rout, while another plunge in oil prices added to the upbeat mood. AI-linked firms led gains across the region, in stark contrast to the battering in reaction to last Tuesday’s Democratic sweep of Congress that stoked regulatory concerns.
However, traders remain on edge about profitability in light of the vast sums pumped into the sector, while they were also keeping tabs on Nvidia after boss Jensen Huang’s admission of an affair amid speculation of a Chinese espionage plot. Titans including Amazon, Microsoft and Apple were among the big gainers Monday in New York as tech bounced back with help from bargain-hunting, with observers pointing out that confidence in the AI outlook remained solid. The Nasdaq’s 2.7 percent spike led a strong day on Wall Street, and Asian investors took up the baton.
Seoul surged more than five percent at one point thanks to similar advances for chipmakers SK hynix and Samsung, while Tokyo jumped almost three percent on the back of strong performances by Kioxia, SoftBank and Tokyo Electron. Taiwan’s TSMC rallied more than one percent and MediaTek more than seven percent to drag the Taiex 3.5 percent higher. Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Manila and Wellington were also higher.
However, SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes said the gains did not suggest markets were back in rude health. “The market rallied because the sellers stepped away, not because the entire buy-side suddenly rediscovered its courage,” he wrote in a commentary. “For the second consecutive session, the companies receiving the enormous capital expenditure cheques dramatically outperformed the businesses writing them. That is a potentially important development after last week’s indiscriminate liquidation,” he said.
– ‘Positive momentum’ – “The hyperscalers remain central to the AI investment cycle, but the market is increasingly questioning the returns on the extraordinary sums being committed to new infrastructure. Equipment providers, optical networking companies and selected data-centre suppliers can still benefit from existing spending programmes, even as investors become more selective about the ultimate economics for the companies funding those projects.”
Oil prices continued their retreat on hopes the US and Iran will eventually bring an end to the Middle East crisis. Both main contracts fell around one percent Tuesday, extending the previous day’s drop that saw Brent give up almost six percent. They have lost around 20 percent this month as traders bet on a resolution to the seven-month-old conflict, which has sent inflation soaring and forced central banks to hike interest rates.
US President Donald Trump said Monday there was “positive momentum” toward ending the war after meeting Qatar’s prime minister at the White House. “I had an excellent conversation with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani,” Trump said on Truth Social, adding that “much was discussed with respect to the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
While expectations had grown ahead of last week’s midterms that he would resume strikes on Iran this month, Trump has talked down such a move while leaving the door open to them. In his post on Monday, Trump reiterated that the US was “locked and loaded,” but that he believed further strikes were “quite unlikely” given that key US allies in the Gulf “would prefer the status quo”. His comments echoed early statements to CNN over the weekend when he said it was “highly unlikely” fighting would resume.
– Key figures at around 0230 GMT –
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.9 percent at 60,475.78
Seoul – Kospi: UP 4.1 percent at 5,223.87
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 percent at 24,545.75
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,671.50
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.1 percent at $85.87 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.0 percent at $91.63 per barrel
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1223 from $1.1221 on Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3444 from $1.3440
Dollar/yen: UP at 158.04 from 157.48 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.47 from 83.50 pence
New York – Dow: UP 2.2 percent at 52,389.75 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 1.0 percent at 10,782.87 (close)
© 2024 AFP
