Stocks shrug off tensions to rise on renewed tech interest

NEW YORK: Global stock markets were largely positive on Thursday as investors rediscovered their appetite for tech names and brushed off a new volley of strikes between the US and Iran, with oil prices falling slightly.

In New York, the main indexes closed higher, with the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite jumping 1.3%.

“Part of the story that people are missing is just how much oil production has increased outside of the Gulf” since the beginning of war in the Middle East, said Christopher Low of FHN Financial.

This means any disruption in the region is not as harmful as before, Low added.

In Europe, Paris and Frankfurt ended the day higher, while London was dragged lower by a sharp fall in AstraZeneca shares.

Indications that a planned US listing by South Korean chip giant SK hynix is seven times oversubscribed have put pep back into tech stocks, which had fallen in recent sessions because of concerns about massive investment in artificial intelligence.

SK hynix is expected to announce the pricing for its American Depository Receipts, and observers suggest it could raise as much as US$28 billion from the sale.

The company’s shares in Seoul closed 5.3% higher but remained below a record high reached last month after being swept up in the recent tech rout.

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% higher, although the market has tanked more than 20% below the record high it hit in June.

Tokyo added more than 1%, while Shanghai, Singapore, Wellington, Mumbai, Bangkok and Jakarta also finished higher. Hong Kong fell.

British pharmaceutical giant Astrazeneca slumped 10% 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%.

International oil benchmark Brent North Sea shed 2.2% 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 US 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 US 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.