HONG KONG – Monday saw a mixed performance in Asian markets, following a record-setting session on Wall Street. Meanwhile, oil prices surged by over 4% after U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed Tehran’s response to the latest American proposal aimed at resolving the Iran conflict.
U.S. futures took a slight dip.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 experienced a 0.4% decline, settling at 62,486.84. This came after briefly reaching a new peak during the session, surpassing 63,300. Notably, SoftBank Group, a leading technology-focused investment firm in Japan, saw its shares tumble more than 5%.
Conversely, South Korea’s Kospi index climbed 4.1% to 7,804.71, achieving a record high during intraday trading. This surge was fueled by technology stocks, particularly giants like Samsung Electronics and chip manufacturer SK Hynix.
Despite the ongoing conflict in Iran, technology stocks and increasing interest in artificial intelligence have helped sustain market momentum in Japan and South Korea. Over the past month, the Nikkei 225 and Kospi have risen by more than 10% and 30%, respectively.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.3% to 26,319.93, while the Shanghai Composite index saw a 0.9% rise, reaching 4,219.13. This boost came after official data revealed a 2.8% increase in China’s factory gate prices for April from the previous year, marking the highest level since 2022, alongside unexpectedly strong export numbers released over the weekend.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.6%. Taiwan’s Taiex traded 0.9% higher, and India’s Sensex fell 1.3%.
Oil prices jumped early Monday over Iran war uncertainties, after Trump wrote in a social media post that Iran’s response on Sunday to the U.S.’s latest proposal was “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!”
Brent crude, the international standard, gained 4.2% to $105.57 per barrel. It was roughly $70 per barrel before the war began in late February. Benchmark U.S. crude was 4.7% higher at $99.89 a barrel.
With the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global oil and gas transport, still largely closed and as the U.S. is continuing its sea blockade of Iranian ports, analysts believe oil prices are likely to remain higher for longer.
The Iran war was also set to be part of the discussion agenda when Trump meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this week. China has close economic links with Iran and the U.S. has been pressing Beijing to leverage its influence to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“There remains a glimmer of hope that talks between Trump and Chinese President Xi later this week could yield positive results on Iran,” ING commodities analysts Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a note on Monday.
“The hope is that China can use its influence over Iran to push it closer towards a peace deal,” they said. “Clearly, this is easier said than done.” The oil market is still very much “heavily headline-driven,” the pair added.
On Friday, Wall Street rose to new records with the benchmark S&P 500 adding 0.8% to 7,398.93 and reaching its latest all-time high, fueled by market optimism after a solid report on the U.S. job market which was better than what analysts had expected despite Iran war shocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up less than 0.1% to 49,609.16, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite climbed 1.7% to its own record at 26,247.08.
In other dealings, the U.S. dollar climbed to 157.14 Japanese yen from 156.61 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1756, down from $1.1780.
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AP Business Writers Stan Choe and Matt Ott contributed to this report.
