Stocks shrug off tensions to rise on renewed tech interest

Interest in SK hynix “demonstrates continued investor appetite for AI-related semiconductor companies, which encouraged investors to return to tech stocks despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East,” said Angus Campbell at Trade Nation.

Earlier, most Asian markets advanced, although sentiment remained subdued amid concerns over stretched technology valuations and uncertainty over when AI investments will see returns.

Seoul – the poster child of Asia’s AI-led tech boom this year – closed 0.6 per cent higher, although the market has tanked more than 20 per cent below the record high it hit in June.

Tokyo added more than one per cent, while Shanghai, Singapore, Wellington, Mumbai, Bangkok and Jakarta also finished higher. Hong Kong fell. 

British pharmaceutical giant Astrazeneca slumped 10 per cent after its new heart drug failed to meet targets in a trial, dealing a rare setback to the market heavyweight. The company’s shares pared losses to close down 6.2 per cent.

International oil benchmark Brent North Sea shed 2.2 per cent to US$76.30 per barrel, after having briefly topped US$80 per barrel for the first time in two weeks on Wednesday.

After the United States and Iran traded attacks Wednesday, Trump said a ceasefire between Washington and Tehran was “over,” even as he left the door open to more talks and added any strikes would end quickly.

The United States and Iran exchanged more strikes on Thursday, with Tehran targeting US assets in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.

“Although the events of recent days are another sign that the path to a long-term peace will have many twists and turns, the market seems well placed to absorb the current tensions,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.