Asian markets rise as oil tumbles on U.S.-Iran pause

Asian equity markets opened higher on Monday as oil prices tumbled following a pause in hostilities between the United States and Iran, lifting investor sentiment across the region even as semiconductor weakness tempered gains in Tokyo.

Oil Slides on Diplomatic Hopes

Crude oil prices fell sharply in early Monday trading after the U.S. and Iran refrained from further airstrikes over the weekend, raising hopes of a diplomatic resolution that could restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. According to Reuters, Brent crude futures dropped around 4%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude also declined, after the U.S. halted strikes on Iran for a second consecutive day starting July 24, and Iran signaled it would hold its military response as long as the American suspension held.sedaily+1

The drop marked a reversal from last week, when renewed fighting between Washington and Tehran had pushed Brent crude back above $100 a barrel on Thursday before easing on Friday.local10

Regional Markets Rebound

In Seoul, the Kospi opened 115.65 points, or 1.73%, higher at 6,806.27 before paring gains, supported by falling oil prices and optimism around Korea-U.S. artificial intelligence cooperation announced at the San Francisco AI Summit over the weekend. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix posted modest gains, while Naver surged roughly 11% after disclosing a 1.48 trillion won capital increase tied to Nvidia ↘ 0.92%.sedaily

Japan's Nikkei 225 closed at 64,931.19, up 320.04 points, or 0.50%, according to Nikkei data. The index opened strongly but struggled to extend early gains as selling in chip-related stocks persisted. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index had fallen 4.25% on Wall Street on Friday, dragging down sentiment around chipmakers amid concerns that aggressive AI capital spending could erode profitability.indexes.nikkei+1

In China, the Shanghai Composite climbed as ChangXin Memory Technologies made its trading debut on the STAR Market in what Reuters called Asia's largest IPO of 2026, having raised 57.92 billion yuan ($8.6 billion). CXMT, China's leading memory chipmaker, had drawn intense investor interest ahead of the listing.economictimes+2

Key Tests Ahead

Markets now face a week packed with potential catalysts. SK hynix reports earnings on July 29, while U.S. big tech firms including Microsoft ↗ 0.03%, Meta ↘ 1.80%, and Amazon Amazon.com, Inc. ↘ 0.66% are also set to release results. The Federal Open Market Committee meeting later in the week will be closely watched after the Federal Reserve raised rates by 25 basis points in June. Whether the U.S.-Iran pause holds — and whether Strait of Hormuz shipping resumes in earnest — will remain the dominant variable for energy markets and risk appetite globally.sedaily