Asia markets hit records on AI euphoria, Iran peace hopes

[SINGAPORE] Stocks leapt, oil prices sank and the US dollar dropped in the Asian morning on Wednesday (May 6) after US President Donald Trump touted “great progress” towards a “final agreement” with Teheran, while momentum in artificial intelligence-driven trades accelerated.

Trump said that he would briefly pause an operation escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about a fifth of global oil and has been blockaded by Iran since late February, triggering a global energy crisis.

The news sent Brent crude tumbling 1.2 per cent to US$108.51 per barrel, while S&P 500 e-mini futures were up 0.3 per cent.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan jumped 2.3 per cent to a fresh record, led by a 5.1 per cent surge in South Korea’s Kospi, clearing the 7,000 mark for the first time.

“Markets embraced a sense of calm and stability overnight, with the risk of escalation in the Middle East conflict viewed as having diminished after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ensured the ceasefire was still in place, despite the US and Iran trading blows yesterday,” analysts from Westpac wrote in a research note.

“This put some wind in the sails for risk sentiment, supporting a rebound in equities across the US and Europe at the same time as crude oil prices partially unwound yesterday’s climb.”

Stocks on Wall Street hit fresh records on Tuesday as the S&P 500 rose 0.8 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1 per cent.

“Investors bought and continue to add to positioning in the 2026 winners,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group in Melbourne. “There has been some buying in S&P 500 materials stocks, but it’s tech that continues to attract the bulk of flows, notably in Apple and the memory plays.”

As the Seoul market reopened after a holiday, Samsung Electronics jumped 12 per cent, topping a US$1 trillion market value, overtaking Berkshire Hathaway and closing in on Walmart.

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“Due to the capex spend we are seeing from hyperscalers in the US, the earnings growth trajectory for sectors such as semiconductors, tech hardware, industrials and materials in Asia exceeds anything I have seen in a long time,” said Rushil Khanna, head of equity investments for Asia at Ostrum, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers.

“This capex is leading to material value creation in Asia as the provider of the picks and shovels to the AI ecosystem,” he said.

Shares in Advanced Micro Devices jumped 16.5 per cent in extended trading as the company forecast second-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, helped by keen demand for its dead-centre chips as cloud-computing companies accelerate spending on AI infrastructure.

In the foreign exchange markets, the US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, snapped a three-day winning streak, nudging down 0.1 per cent to 98.236.

The euro stood at US$1.1724 and sterling was at US$1.3577, both up around 0.3 per cent so far on the day.

The Australian dollar fetched US$0.7227, rising about 0.6 per cent to the highest since June 2022, buoyed by improved risk appetite and underpinned by a third straight interest-rate hike a day earlier.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury bond was flat at 4.424 per cent.

Gold was 1.2 per cent higher at US$4,609.59. In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin was down 0.9 per cent at US$80,881.12, while Ether was off 1 per cent at US$2,358.09. REUTERS