Asian Markets Mostly Rise as Wall Street Gains and Oil Prices Drop

Asian markets mostly saw gains on Tuesday, following a strong session on Wall Street. U.S. futures also rose, with the S&P 500 nearing a record close. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.1% to 70,683.98, surpassing 70,000 for the first time since early July. South Korea’s Kospi, however, dropped 0.9% to 6,941.39, reflecting volatility in technology-related stocks.

In Japan, Advantest, a chip testing equipment manufacturer, gained 3.9%, while SoftBank Group, an investor in OpenAI, fell 3.1% after its CEO Masayoshi Son cautioned about risks linked to technology. Samsung Electronics in South Korea dropped 1.5%, and SK Hynix, a memory chipmaker, slipped 3.7%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 0.8% to 24,234.19, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6% to 8,735.70. Taiwan’s Taiex edged up 0.2%, and India’s Sensex added 0.6%. Mainland China’s markets were closed due to a holiday.

On Monday, Wall Street’s S&P 500 added 0.7%, nearing its previous record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.1% to an all-time closing high. Technology giants like Nvidia and Broadcom each gained 2.1%. Oil prices fell early Tuesday, with Brent crude down 0.8% to $99.48 per barrel, and U.S. crude losing 1.1% to $88.46 per barrel. Analysts noted easing upward pressures on oil prices but cautioned about potential supply disruptions from the Middle East.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield climbed to around 5.30%, near multi-decade highs, as investors sought higher returns amid rising inflationary pressures. The U.S. dollar strengthened to 158.15 Japanese yen, while the euro fell to $1.1209.