Asian Stocks Rise as AI Demand Boosts Chip Shares
Asian stock markets rose on Monday as semiconductor shares gained due to increased demand for data driven by artificial intelligence developments.
The surge in chip stocks boosted South Korea's tech-heavy index, which gained 1.5%, and the MSCI Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan rose 0.8%.
However, oil prices weakened after reports indicated that more oil from the Middle East was beginning to flow out amid the ongoing conflict in the Gulf region, with Brent crude falling 2.1% to USD 101.63 a barrel and US crude declining 2.1% to USD 98.15 a barrel.
The Bank of America analysts noted that monetary tightening cycles are usually more aggressive in their early stages and the Federal Reserve has almost never stopped after just one rate increase, maintaining its forecast for two additional rate hikes in October and December.