Asian stocks rise on tech gains amid US-Iran tensions

Asian equity markets opened broadly higher on Monday, buoyed by gains in US technology shares late last week, even as fresh military exchanges between the United States and Iran over the weekend fueled concerns about energy supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz.

Equity-index futures for Japan and South Korea pointed to gains at the open, while those for Australia were steady, according to Bloomberg via the Business Times. South Korea's KOSPI jumped 3.18% and Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 2.03%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.36%, NDTV Profit reported. The Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite were little changed.ndtvprofit+1

The rally came after US tech stocks advanced on the last trading session, on Sep. 4, with the Nasdaq 100 edging up 0.2%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.4%. Chipmakers helped limit broader losses, with Micron ↗ 6.10% climbing over 6%, AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. ↗ 4.69% advancing 5%, and Nvidia ↗ 0.84% gaining 1% on optimism surrounding OpenAI's new GPT model. US markets are closed Monday for Labor Day.businesstimes+1

Weekend Escalation in the Gulf

The US military said on Saturday it struck three Iranian oil tankers after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles at two Navy warships, according to the Associated Press. US Central Command said the tankers were part of a "multibillion-dollar shadow network" funding the IRGC and its regional proxies. Iran condemned the strikes and subsequently said it had targeted oil tankers using what it called an unauthorized route through the Strait of Hormuz, along with several US-linked vessels. Iran also said it attacked a US naval drone attempting to enter the strait.npr+2

Mohsen Rezaee, Iran's top security official, said a new restricted zone would be declared outside the strait in the coming days, according to Press TV.ndtvprofit

Oil Prices and the Week Ahead

Brent crude climbed as much as 0.8% to around $97 a barrel before paring some gains, while West Texas Intermediate traded near $92 a barrel. European natural gas prices rose as much as 4.2%. WTI crude had already gained roughly 9% last week.goodreturns+1

The week ahead brings key US economic data, with CPI numbers due Friday alongside PPI data on Thursday — readings that will shape expectations for a potential Federal Reserve rate hike at its Sep. 16 meeting. "A hot CPI print would all but seal a September hike," wrote Elias Haddad, global head of markets strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright cautioned on Sunday that a nuclear agreement with Iran may not be reached soon.ndtvprofit+2