Asian Chip Stocks Rise, Crude Climbs Toward $100: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Asian chip stocks extended their recent gains on sustained investor interest in the artificial-intelligence trade. Escalating hostilities in the Middle East pushed Brent crude toward $100 a barrel.

South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.4%, helped by gains in both of the nation’s chip giants, SK Hynix Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. The advance came after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, known as the SOX, rose 1.3% in US trading on Tuesday. The broad MSCI Asia Pacific Index of shares rose 0.6%, with the information technology sector making the biggest contribution.

Brent gained as much as 1.8% to $99.67 a barrel after the US struck Iranian tankers near the vital crude-export hub of Kharg Island, stoking fears of deeper disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Brent is up more than 60% this year and is closing in on the $100-a-barrel mark for the first time since July.

With the Iran war now in its seventh month, renewed attacks on energy infrastructure risk keeping oil prices elevated and complicating the outlook for inflation and interest rates. Investors will be watching to see whether the latest escalation further disrupts supplies, with Friday’s US consumer-price report set to provide the next major test of expectations for a Federal Reserve rate increase at its Sept. 15-16 meeting.

“With geopolitical tensions and oil prices on the rise, the markets may find it difficult to focus on much beyond the inflation discussion,” said Chris Larkin of E*Trade from Morgan Stanley.

Earlier, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that a US missile had hit an Iranian tanker off the coast of Kharg. All tanker crews near Kuwaiti and Bahraini piers should “immediately abandon their vessels, whether at anchor or docked, as they will be targeted,” Iran’s state TV reported, citing an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps statement.

The yen strengthened for a third day after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent challenged traders to counter his efforts to strengthen Japan’s currency, saying when he makes market calls these days he’s effectively doing so with inside information.

The yen advanced 0.2% to 153.66 per dollar, while Bloomberg’s gauge of the dollar slipped 0.1%.

In trade news, the US moved to ban some Canadian alcoholic beverages, dairy products and motorcycles, according to officials. Meanwhile, the European Union and Canada are pursuing a broader partnership spanning trade and security as they seek to counterbalance US and Chinese global influence.

After a stronger-than-forecast US employment report last week, attention is turning to Friday’s inflation data for clues on future Fed policy.

Economists expect CPI to have risen 0.4% in August, accelerating from a month earlier partly because of higher gasoline costs. Excluding volatile food and energy components, core CPI is projected to have increased a more moderate 0.2%, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

That would bring the annual measure of underlying inflation down to 2.4%, the smallest year-over-year increase since 2021.

“Brace for a turbulent week, with inflation data set to swing market expectations for a Fed hold or hike next week – with knock-on effects on wider asset markets,” Evercore ISI strategist Krishna Guha wrote in a Tuesday note.

Corporate Highlights:

Meta Platforms Inc. unveiled a new artificial-intelligence agent designed to carry out tasks on a user’s behalf, advancing Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of a future where people each have a personalized AI assistant. Qualcomm Inc. signed up Amazon.com Inc. as a data center chip customer and investor, scoring a major win in its bid to benefit from soaring AI spending. Intel Corp. climbed after a report from DigiTimes that the company is expected to raise prices. Separately, Northland Securities upgraded the chipmaker to outperform, citing turnaround progress. ASML Holding NV has won commitments from top chipmakers to use its latest semiconductor production gear, while embarking on a broader agreement to meet surging demand for more powerful AI technology. Boston Scientific Corp. and Stryker Corp. fell after the medical device companies said they are dealing with the repercussions of separate cyber attacks that curtailed their ability to get products to customers and dented sales, with damage that could last for months.

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 10:21 a.m. Tokyo time Nikkei 225 futures (OSE) rose 0.8% Japan’s Topix rose 0.5% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.1% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was little changed The Shanghai Composite rose 0.2% Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.5% Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1629 The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 153.77 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.7046 per dollar Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin rose 0.3% to $78,677.76 Ether rose 0.3% to $2,491.03 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.79% Japan’s 10-year yield declined 1.5 basis points to 2.870% Australia’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 5.20% Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.5% to $94.46 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.2% to $4,365.58 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

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