Asian stocks advance on tech, dollar edges lower

Asian shares climbed as strong corporate earnings kept the technology sector buoyant, while oil fluctuated with mixed signals from the Middle East.

MSCI’s Asian equities gauge rose 1% with South Korean shares — a poster child for artificial intelligence — jumping 2.8% to a record, while Taiwanese stocks opened 2.6% higher. US equity-index futures edged up 0.1% after the Wall Street gauges closed at new highs on Friday on earnings from megacap tech companies including Apple Inc.

Markets opened on an optimistic note after President Donald Trump said the US will begin guiding ships not involved in the Iran conflict through the Strait of Hormuz from Monday. However, a senior Iranian official warned that Tehran would consider any US interference in the Strait a ceasefire breach, according to an AFP report.

Brent crude whipsawed — initially falling 2.4%, then erasing those losses before dropping 0.5% to just under $108 a barrel.

“The devil is always in the detail, but is a positive signal as it shows both parties are willing to find common ground,” said Rodrigo Catril, a strategist at National Australia Bank in Sydney. Whether the positive sentiment lasts “is hard to tell. We have been here before,” he said.

Elsewhere, the dollar edged lower against most of its major peers. The yen was a touch stronger at 156.94 per dollar after Japan reportedly intervened in the market on Thursday. Treasury futures rose and there will be no cash trading in US debt until New York due to holidays in Tokyo and London.

Trump described discussions with Tehran as “very positive” after it received Washington’s response to its latest proposal to end the war. Steps to guide neutral ships out through the Strait of Hormuz could pave the way for smoother energy flows from the Middle East after a near-full blockade for two months.

Iran’s proposal called for a complete end to the conflict within 30 days along with guarantees against renewed strikes, the semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported. The plan reiterated Tehran’s earlier demands, including that US forces withdraw from near Iran, a maritime blockade be lifted, sanctions removed and reparations paid, it said.

On Sunday, Iran said it received the US response to its plan via Pakistan, and is reviewing it.

“Trump fatigue is setting in more and more — I don’t think the market’s really taking it seriously,” said Haris Khurshid, chief investment officer at Karobaar Capital LP.

The latest headlines add to the month-long surge in equities as traders mostly set aside concerns about the economic fallout from the hostilities, with signs of corporate resilience driving US stocks to their best month since 2020. Efforts to turn a fragile ceasefire into lasting peace combined and signs of US economic strength sent the S&P 500 to its fifth consecutive week of gains.

The S&P 500 ended April at highs with about 81% of the benchmark’s companies having beat first-quarter earnings estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Emerging market equities notched a fresh record high toward the end of April while a gauge of Asian stocks have almost recouped their war-driven losses.

Risk-taking went beyond equities, with high-yield credit spreads near multi-year tights and retail traders piling into prediction markets and zero-day options. The rally has held through the war in Iran, oil above $100 a barrel and a Federal Reserve that has signaled rates will stay higher for longer amid elevated energy costs.

“The market is being very patient with this level of uncertainty because it is focused on the other side of the conflict, which may be too optimistic,” said Joe Gilbert, a portfolio manager at Integrity Asset Management. “The economic damage being done will be more materially felt in the next month.”