Asian equities climbed as investors doubled down on the AI trade, even as Middle East tensions pushed oil higher and weighed on bonds. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.5%, led by technology shares, while South Korea’s Kospi jumped 4.5% to a record and an Asian chipmaker gauge hit a fresh peak after US semiconductors closed at all-time highs on Friday. US and European futures were little changed, suggesting the enthusiasm in Asia may not fully carry into the Western session.
The split in markets reflects a tug-of-war between strong earnings momentum and renewed geopolitical risk. Global equities have already erased losses from the Iran conflict and moved back to records, helped by resilient US data and better-than-expected corporate results, with around 82% of S&P 500 companies beating first-quarter profit estimates. AI infrastructure remains the dominant theme, with investors favouring chipmakers and hardware suppliers as beneficiaries of the data-centre spending cycle.
Oil remains the main macro risk, with Brent rising above $105 after President Trump rejected Iran’s latest peace proposal, effectively prolonging the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Higher crude prices revived inflation concerns, pushing Treasury yields higher and supporting the dollar, while gold fell as markets priced rates staying elevated for longer. This week, attention turns to the Trump–Xi meeting and US inflation data, both of which could test whether the AI-driven rally can continue to look through energy and policy risks.
• S&P 500 futures unchanged
• Nasdaq 100 futures unchanged
• US 10-year yield +4 bps to 4.39%
• Bitcoin +0.1% to $80,816
• Gold −1.3% to $4,654
• WTI +4.5% to $99.76
