Middle East Tensions Push Brent Above $106 as Oil Shock Deepens

Asian shares were trading mixed Tuesday after artificial-intelligence stocks declined overnight, as oil prices rose amid continued fighting in the Middle East.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.8 per cent to 63,993.22. SoftBank Group, an OpenAI investor, gained more than 8 per cent, recovering from overnight losses. The move followed OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman’s comments that the company would likely wait until next year for a stock sale.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.9 per cent to 8,672.10, while South Korea’s Kospi was unchanged at 6,681.32. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.2 per cent to 24,879.69, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.1 per cent to 3,889.95.

AI-related stocks remained under pressure following concerns over high valuations and calls for a slowdown in AI development. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a global slowdown, citing safety concerns. Mizuho Bank analyst Ng Jing Wen said the possibility of a coordinated slowdown remained uncertain because of competition among US companies and between the US and China.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 37 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 7,619.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 152.09 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 52,421.20, while the Nasdaq composite fell 146.62 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 26,186.41. Nvidia dropped 3.4 per cent and SpaceX declined 2 per cent.

Oil prices continued to rise. US benchmark crude gained 1.36 per cent to $102.77 a barrel, while Brent crude rose 1.17 per cent to $106.92.

The increase followed fighting in the Middle East and disruption to a Saudi oil pipeline that is expected to remain largely out of service for weeks after an attack, according to two regional officials cited by AP. The pipeline allows Saudi exports to reach the Red Sea, avoiding the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian attacks have restricted tanker movements.

The 10-year US Treasury yield briefly crossed 5 per cent before easing to 4.98 per cent. The dollar rose to 154.81 yen, while the euro fell to $1.1537.