Stock market: Asia rises, driven by AI
The upward trend in oil prices continues
Asian stock markets are rising, driven by gains among regional chipmakers on the back of expectations of billions of dollars of investment in the development of artificial intelligence. Oil prices are continuing their recent upward trend.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific share index rose by 1 per cent, with the Kospi — a benchmark for AI investments — up by 3.2 per cent. Samsung and SK Hynix rose by more than 3 per cent, as investors bet that South Korean chipmakers would be among the beneficiaries of global spending on AI. An Asian index of semiconductor stocks was set to post its third consecutive day of gains.
Japan’s Topix rose by 0.5 per cent; in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose by 0.6 per cent, whilst in China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (+1.3 per cent) and the Shanghai Composite (+0.2 per cent) both rose.
Oil prices have risen by up to 2.5 per cent to nearly $96.50 a barrel, the highest level since early June, after Iranian-backed Houthi militants claimed to have targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, threatening further supply disruptions. Treasury bonds continued to fall on fears that rising oil prices could fuel inflation and prompt central banks to raise interest rates.
