HONG KONG (AP) — Global stock markets experienced a mostly upward trend on Friday, fueled by investments in technology-related stocks, while oil prices decreased amidst fluctuating tensions due to the ongoing conflict involving Iran. Following remarks from former U.S. President Donald Trump declaring the Iran war ceasefire "over," tensions escalated as the United States and Iran engaged in mutual attacks.
In early European trading, the UK’s FTSE 100 index saw a slight increase, rising 0.1% to reach 10,478.98. Conversely, France's CAC 40 edged down by 0.1% to settle at 8,322.31, and Germany's DAX also dipped by 0.1%, concluding at 25,082.58. Futures for the S&P 500 fell by 0.1%, whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures improved by the same margin.
Asian markets exhibited a more positive outlook, with South Korea’s Kospi gaining 2.5% to hit 7,475.94, which helped recover a portion of its losses experienced earlier in the week. In Seoul, shares of semiconductor manufacturer SK Hynix fell by 0.3% ahead of its Nasdaq debut in New York. Meanwhile, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index rose 1.2% to 68,557.73, propelled by a notable 10.7% increase in shares of SoftBank Group, a significant investor in OpenAI. Chip equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron also posted a gain of 2.7%.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong climbed by 0.6% to reach 24,175.12, while the Shanghai Composite index experienced a decline, dropping 1% to settle at 3,996.16. Additionally, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose by 0.5%, concluding at 8,806.00. On the other hand, India's Sensex added 1.2% to its value.
In the oil market, prices exhibited volatility as global oil supplies faced challenges due to a limited number of vessels able to navigate the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude, the international standard, fell by 0.5% to $75.94 per barrel, a significant drop from around $72 prior to the start of the conflict in late February. Similarly, benchmark U.S. crude also decreased by 0.5%, concluding at $71.71 per barrel.
On Wall Street, the previous day saw positive momentum, with the S&P 500 index increasing by 0.8% and the Dow Jones adding 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose by 1.3% to 26,206.89. Semiconductor stocks led this upward trend; notably, Micron Technology surged by 4.5% following its announcement of increased investments in the U.S. due to a "surging demand for memory in the AI era." Additionally, shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) jumped by 5.7%, Marvell Technology rose by 5%, and ON Semiconductor gained 4.4%.
As for currency movements, the U.S. dollar fell to 161.71 Japanese yen, down from 162.37 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1432, slightly up from the previous day’s $1.1430. The yen gained strength against the dollar after Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama indicated plans to encourage major pension funds to invest more significantly in domestic, yen-denominated assets.
